Shipwrecked
by Yomico
Summary: Two princes, stuck on an island with no way back. Two forgotten girls, calling the same island their home. With a dreaded set of marriages lying in wait back on the mainland, can the two girls help save a kingdom that wants them gone? (Fairy Tail - Island Princess) (NaLu & GaLe)
1. Chapter 1

**LUCY:**

"Lu! Where on earth have you been?" My best and only friend, Levy, stomped up to me and stuck her hand in-between my eyes and the yellowed pages. I tried to move the book away from her but her hand stayed glued to the page. A smile began to form on my lips despite my valiant efforts to stay neutral.

"Le-vy! Can't you let me read in peace?" I tried to sound innocently exasperated, but one look at my friend's face told me I failed miserably.

"I wake up to find you gone, then you don't show up for breakfast or lunch, and now you just pop up like nothings' wrong! What is your problem, Lu?" The little blunette waved her hands for emphasis. I giggled and gave, unable to keep her worried for nothing.

"It's fine. I just went to the beach, ok? Geez…" I sighed, hoping she wouldn't leap from one thing to the other.

"You went to look at the ship." Her eyes narrowed and she stuck her hands on her hips. I cursed inwardly while keeping up the good girl façade. After a long moment she rolled her eyes and plopped down on the worn couch, leaning over my shoulder to look at the book. "What's this one about?"

I flipped the book over and handed it to her, letting her read the summary. Yes, I'd gone to look at the ship. It had crashed into the massive rocks on the coast of our little island a few days ago, but our first expedition didn't turn up any survivors. Any bodies at all, for that matter. A ship had to have a crew, so I kept sneaking out at night to watch the wreck. Last night my efforts had finally paid off.

"Levy?"

"Hm?"  
"I saw a fire. Last night, on the ship." Her eyes shot up from the book and focused on me.

"You sure?" She sounded excited, but also nervous. Besides each other, we had never seen or spoken to a person. Not that we remembered, anyways.

"Yep. I don't know if there was anyone actually there, since I stayed until past lunch and no one showed, but I definitely saw a fire." I traced the worn design of the couch cushion with the tip of my finger.

"All right then, let's go." Levy jumped up from the couch, the book tucked under her elbow. I just stared at her for a few seconds, not really following. She gave an exaggerated sigh and grabbed my hands to pull me up, dropping the book. When I got up she picked up the fallen tome and placed it on the couch, making sure to dust it off. It was my turn to roll my eyes as she cooed over her little precious before she gave me an evil grin and ran through what was once a door.

"Last one to the wreck is a chicken!" She called. I groaned but ran after her, a smile light on my face.

 **NATSU:**

"Dammit! What d'ya think you were doing, metalhead?" I yelled, staring hopelessly and the bashed up generator. The metalhead in question elbowed me in the ribs before scratching his chin.

"It was dark!" I shot him a murderous glare, to which he responded to with a smirk. "You gonna kill me, Salamander? You're the one who burnt down our entire freaking food supply."

"Oh, shut it, Gajeel. For the last time, that wasn't my fault. We're gonna die either way." I pulled a hand through my salmon hair, nearly groaning in frustration. Here we were, two princes on our last adventure before the damnation they called marriage, shipwrecked and stranded in no-man's-land. No way home, no supplies, and worst of all, no food. Even though that may or may not be partially my fault.

"Remind me, hot head, why are we the only two survivors?" Gajeel played with some weird metal thing, his infamous smirk plastered firmly on his face.

"Remind me, iron bucket, why are you one of those survivors?" I growled at him. Sure, we did hate each other, but in reality we were pretty good friends. A messed up friendship, if anything, but we managed. My side began to throb again, the long gash seeping blood. "Dammit…"

"How's your side?" Gajeel leaned back to inspect it, careful to keep his weight on his left. I poked the bandages and winced at the spark of pain.

"Fine. How's your leg?" I asked him, already knowing his answer. Neither of us would admit to weakness – it was a stubbornness thing, according to everyone else.

"It'll live. You know, we should explore the island soon." He looked out at the green chunk of land, floating in an endless sea. I followed his gaze, taking in the golden beaches and leaning palms. It was a gorgeous place, rivaling even the royal gardens. If I wasn't doomed to die with an idiot, I might've actually enjoyed it. The midday sun was already beating down at full strength, scorching the life out of my back and neck. I threw one last glance at the generator before turning my back and sticking me hand in my pockets.

"Let's just go now, before we fry to a pair of little crisps." I strolled across the wreckage and jumped down to the soft sand. Gajeel followed, his landing punctuated with a suppressed hiss. It must've hurt, landing with a sprained knee. We made our way towards the forest, minds set on the search of food.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hey guys! Sorry for the overabundance of font details and other technical crap. Hope it's fixed. ~Yomico**_

 **LUCY:**

We stayed hidden, crouching in a sea of plants. The fern was tickling my face and I had something brushing my nose, giving me an irresistible urge to sneeze. There was a small and fuzzy animal making a nest in Levy's hair and something was sitting on my shoulder. Levy kept saying it was a spider, but my assailants only had two legs complete with little claws and a bunch of feathers. Not to mention his sudden and violent twitching habits. To sum it up, we were hot, tired, and pissed for no reason whatsoever.

"Why does it sound like so much fun, but only in the books?" I grumbled, swiping a stray beetle off my arm.

"Probably because in the books, the heroine is waiting for her true love. It makes the time fly, waiting for someone you adore." Levy said, getting that dreamy look again. I nudged her with my knee before returning my focus to the wreck. Two small figures dropped from the deck to the beach, one pausing a moment before straightening out.

"Someone's there." I whispered fiercely, panic and curiosity battling it out inside. Levy jumped up and ran for the tree line, taking me by surprise. "Hey!" I took off after her, using her more-than-obvious trail of rustling bushes and creased grass to keep up. I found her panting and giving a palm a one-armed hug, her bare feet coated with fine golden sand.

"Look, Lu! It's two guys!" She puffed out, her eyes alight with excitement. I traced her line of sight to see them frozen, staring at us with open mouths and wide eyes. The one closer to us had spiky pink hair, ruffled up in a hopeless mess. His onyx eyes were locked on me, unusually sharp teeth peeking out from between parted lips. Surprisingly, his tan skin managed to complement the strange hair color while giving him a warm, outdoorsy look. He was wearing a black-and-gold vest with no shirt, revealing a hazardous mess of red bandages wrapping around his side. Baggy pants ended just below his knees, the loose fabric rippling in the coastal wind. His hard muscles dared my eyes to trace their outlines, showing through the bandages. I felt a hot blush spread up my neck and across my cheeks and I chose to focus on his partner instead. He had a darker feel to him, his mane of shaggy black hair falling down his back and pulled away from his face by a gray and red bandana. Red eyes eyed me suspiciously before flicking to Levy, not bothering to hide their confusion and interest. He had paler skin than the pink-haired man, but it only worked to give him a deadlier air. What bugged me the most was his lack of normal eyebrows and the large amount of piercings all over his face and arms. His outfit was all blacks and grays, all the way from top to bottom. He seemed to favor one leg, his stance unbalanced and off-center.

They seemed to be as shocked by us as we were by them, but the daze didn't last long. I broke it first, pulling Levy in the shelter of the dense woods. She came to her senses right as the first set of leaves smacked her on the face and ran, keeping pace with me with ease. I heard one of the men yell something at our retreating backs, but when I looked back all I could see was an elegant tapestry that was the woods.

"I can't believe it…" Levy mumbled and nearly tripped over a snaking root. She grabbed my hand and nearly pulled me along with her, but I managed to keep us upright and moving. "Thanks. Where was I? Oh, right. THERE ARE PEOPLE ON OUR ISLAND!" She was starting to scream by the end, her panic finally winning over.

"Be quiet!" I hissed and she covered her mouth with a hand. I rolled my eyes and took a wild turn, hoping to throw the men off our track.

"Lu, how about we double back and watch them? We know the woods, they don't. Shouldn't be too hard." Levy slowed to a walk, her chest heaving as she leaned over to catch her breath. I stumbled to a halt, using a tree for support as I tried to get some air into my lungs.

"Sure." It was a good idea, considering we had an enormous advantage with our knowledge of the woods. After we finally got our hearts where we wanted them we traced back, taking great pains to stay quiet and out of sight. We heard them before we saw them, but they were causing such a ruckus that any other way would have been impossible.

 **NATSU:**

There were freaking people. On this midget of an island. Out in the middle of nowhere.

It took some work to get my head around all that.

"Whatcha thinkin' about, eh, Salamander?" Gajeel was wrestling with a beast of a fern, trying to carve a way through it. I shook my head to get rid of her and went to help him, only to get bashed in the face.

"Watch it!" I growled at him, rubbing my eye. He smirked at me and went back to conquering the stupid fern. When we finally subdued it through the use of heavy ammunition – rocks – and kept going, my mind stubbornly returned to the girl.

When she jumped out beside her friend, she already struck me as beautiful. Her blonde hair was whipping around her face, pulled by the wind. Her simple white dress barely reached her knees and hugged her body, showing off her lean and curvy features. Her brown eyes sparkled in annoyance and worry, two pools of melted chocolate that slowly came to recognize our presence. She had a hidden strength to her, something I never saw in the typical girls of my kingdom. She was a survivor, a tough little jewel. She also managed to completely capture my attention. She was different from any other girl I'd ever seen.

We kept walking, accompanied by the muffled sounds of live and Gajeel's snide remarks about my dreamy expression. At first we had kept up a steady run, but eventually we had to stop before we tired ourselves out. Every few minutes he'd throw some insult at me, forever accompanied by a teasing smirk. When I finally had enough I tackled him, sending both of us to the ground.

"Shut up already, iron freak." I landed a square hit to his jaw, sending him reeling. Unfortunately, he recovered very quickly and retaliated with a series of punched to my stomach.

"Get your brains straight, fire freak. Oh, that's right, I forgot. You don't have any." One of his punched made it through my defenses and landed near my gut. I took the blow but followed up with a fast kick, which he dodged. Tch. Slimy metal bastard.

The ground vanished beneath my feet and the world went spinning as we tumbled down a very steep hill. Plants of all possible kind whipped my face and snagged my hair, scratching the life out of me. I was certain I'd be bald by them we reached the end. The air became darker and colder, the plants shriveling until all we could see were clumps of brown and black. The soft dirt hardened and took on an icy feel, speeding us up and adding countless bruises. Just when I figured it couldn't get any worse, the hellride dumped Gajeel and me into a small pond, drenching us to the core with icy water. The shock of the water closing in over my head kept me frozen for a few precious seconds until I snapped back to reality and fought to get to the surface.

Gajeel spluttered, arms working furiously to get him to the shore. "C-cold, so f-fucking cold…"

I agreed with him completely, my teeth chipping themselves into oblivion. We swam for land, reaching record speeds in our desperation to get out of the icy water.

"I d-didn't know s-stuff l-like t-t-this exis-s-sted." I stuttered out, my words distorted by my chattering teeth. This was beyond cold, and no word could properly describe it. The pond was small, but climbing out onto the frozen ground made no difference. My body slowly began to numb over, starting with the loss of feeling in my fingers and toes.

"C'mon, we g-gotta m-move." Gajeel gritted his teeth and pushed himself into a standing position, his knee obviously bugging him. I forced myself up and tried to move, but everything responded a few seconds too slow. My vision began to swim, the dead landscape swirling around with no mercy. I wanted to barf but didn't have enough energy. My knees buckled under me as I lost feeling in them and I fell forward, my arms barely responding fast enough to keep my from kissing the ground. Gajeel was already out, sprawled on the frozen dirt and barely breathing. When I couldn't feel my shoulders they stopped working all together and my face flew towards the ground.

"Gotcha." Firm hands caught my shoulders and a bare foot entered my range of vision. A few leaves fluttered to the ground along with a strand of blonde hair. "Levy, is he okay?" she called, her voice sweet and strong.

"Yep! He's out, but he'll live. How about you, Lu?" Another voice rang out, this one further away and definitely not hers. Probably her friend.

"He's not out, but he might as well be." The girl, Lu, gently lowered my shoulders the rest of the way to the ground. Her voice dropped to a mutter that I barely caught. "You idiot, wandering like that. You got a death wish or something?"

I let myself relax, floating around in a sea of darkness. This girl wouldn't let us die, would she?


	3. Chapter 3

**LUCY:**

It took us a while, but with the help of some extremely sturdy vines and a boatload of swearing we managed to pull the men out of the ravine. By then they were frozen stiff and I began to lose feeling in my toes.

"I'm never saving these two again. They are so damn heavy!" Levy plopped down on a pad of moss next to me, wiggling her toes as she tried to coax some feeling back into them. I sighed and rubbed my own toes, my hands burning them when they touched.

"You don't have anything to compare them to." I pointed out and she scowled.

"Yeah, but at least I _used_ to have an excuse to let them freeze to death next time." She grumbled and I laughed, her sour humor lifting my spirits. She lightened up and chuckled, leaning back on her hands to stare at the perfect blue sky through a gap in the leaves above us. I stood, slowly stretching out my tired limbs. The men really were heavy.

"We need to take them back home." I leaned over her head until my face was level with hers. She poked my nose and stuck out her tongue. Laughing, I straightened and walked over to the pink-haired man, crouching to pull his unconscious form onto my back. Levy did the same, grumbling about her sack of potatoes needing to lose some weight. It took us another while to carry the two men to our home, but we managed with another boatload of cursing. Plopping their sleeping bodies onto our little woven carrier, we climbed up the tree to the platform and used the vines to pull them up, just like we did with anything big we found. I secured the vine while Levy moved them onto the platform.

"What are we going to do with them?" Levy wiped her forehead and readjusted her orange headband, keeping her wavy blue hair out of her face. I pulled out a few crushed petals of the Sun Flower and mixed them into a drink.

"Don't know." I pulled out the stirring rod and handed it to her. "Can you mix it? I'll move them under cover, since the clouds look so promising." She nodded and I went back over to the men. An annoyed sigh escaped my lips as I bent down to pull the pink-haired man into a sheltered corner of the tree. After getting his black-haired friend to join him I went back to Levy, who was already lost in a book she'd snatched.

"Thanks, Levy." I drawled. The spoon clattered to the floor as she jumped and hastily tried to hide the book behind her back. I smirked and divided the drink, a ton of it for the idiots and a couple sips for Levy and me. It didn't taste that good, but we weren't the ones who went swimming in a cursed pond. "Here."

She drained it and made a face, shaking her head in disgust. "I know it's a life-saver, but was it really that hard to make something that doesn't kill you by being disgusting?" She muttered, making me laugh again. She was truly something.

"This'll cheer you up." I grabbed the two bucketloads of the drink and gave one to her. "Go pour that down his throat." She brightened up immediately and nearly ran over to the black-haired man, tipping his chin up and dumping the disgusting drink. I giggled at her creepy delight and did the same to the pink-haired man, being a little more careful to keep him from choking. We got no response from either but they started to regain some body heat, a promising sign.

"You know, Lu, since they were completely in the water, won't they have to drink this stuff again?" Levy sided up to me, a devilish glint in her eyes. I nodded with a small smile on my face. She pumped her fist.

"Now I'm not the only one!" She cheered. In the beginning of our time on the island she'd fallen into the same pond and had to drink the stuff for several days before she felt completely back to normal.

"Yes. Not the only idiot." I teased. She glared at me, a smile already forming.

"Lu!"

"Yes?"

"I'm not an idiot!"

"Never said you were."

She groaned and pushed both hands through her hair, messing up her headband again.

"How do you always win…" She grumbled. I laughed and grabbed her hands, pulling her with me as I headed for the vine rope.

"C'mon, Levy! We have guests to feed." I grabbed the vine with both hands and jumped down, my calloused hands sliding along the vinewith ease. Dodging Levy's butt as she slid down after me, we ran into the woods, teasing and chasing but still the best of friends.

 **NATSU:**

I was freezing for ages, lost in an endless sea of black. Then a very disgusting taste filled my mouth and swirled down my throat, spreading warmth as it went. It was probably the most vile thing I'd ever had to eat, but it kept the cold away and that more than made up for it.

The sound of laughter pulled me from sleep, and what struck me was how carefree it sounded. At the palace almost no one laughed like this. It was always quiet and polite, not a note out of line. I cracked open an eye to see the little blunette drop a hand-woven basket full of some weird yellow fruits on the floor before running to a weird machine and tugging on a thick green vine. The vine was stretched taut before it began to move, sliding over a sturdy branch to pool at the girl's feet. Slowly, another basket edged into view, its contents hidden from my view. The faint smell of fish drifted my way and I turned my head, my eyes widening as I finally took in where I was.

The tree base must've been outrageously huge, because the platform halfway up was giant. Half of it was taken up by what I could only guess to be the girls' living space, a thickly woven sheet of fibers stretched over it. There was a bunch of small makeshift tables, some clean while others were cluttered to the point of collapse, all pushed against a wide branch. Two piles of worn blankets and torn-up pillows were tossed randomly in the curve of another wide branch. Gajeel and I had been moved to an opposite corner, where it was sheltered but still open. In the center of the platform there were three old couches and a large collection of pillows. A purplish sky peeked out from between the branches, nearly covered by dark storm clouds and framed by a green canopy of leaves. It was simple and basic, but comfortable. To these two girls it was clearly home.

The blunette turned around and her large hazel eyes met mine. She grinned and cupped her hands around her mouth.

"Lu! He's up!" She yelled. The blonde landed softy on the edge of the platform, her bare feet soft and silent. She was carrying some sort of pack slung over one shoulder, her hand holding on to a single strap. She'd changed from the dress to a sleeveless shirt and shorts, handmade from the looks of it. I couldn't help but stare since all the girls and women back home always wore long skirts. They would kill for a fancy dress, but this girl probably didn't know they even existed. Her brown eyes landed on me for a moment and she frowned.

"You know, next time you should think before swimming in that ravine." She set the pack by one of the tables and pulled away the cover flap. Her friend moved in to help her and together they had the contents sorted and set up within minutes. It looked like a well-worn routine they had, each knowing what had to be done.

"Who are you?" I called, slowly pushing myself to a sitting position. She glanced my way before turning back to her work.

"Who're you?" The blunette answered for her. I think my mouth dropped open because she smirked. What rock had they been living under?

"Gods, Salamander, didja have to be so damn loud?" Gajeel grumbled, turning over to his side. The blunette giggled and his eyes shot open, jumping around the scene in a few moments of panic before his face settled into its usual smirk.

"What's up, shrimp?" He called to the blunette who, in turn, reddened and picked up the closest weapon. It happened to be a wooden spoon, which she sent flying through the air until it smacked him between the eyes.

"That was me _not_ aiming, jerk." She fumed and the blonde laughed. Gajeel rubbed his new bruise, a scowl replacing the smirk.

"Levy, don't kill him. There's still the drink, remember?" The blonde grabbed a fruit and fell back into the mass of pillows. She bit into the fruit, watching us carefully. "So. Who are you and why do you have a death wish?"

I searched my head for an answer to her second question and found none. "I'm Crown Prince Dragneel, he's Prince Redfox, and I don't have a death wish."

The blonde tilted her head at me, clearly confused. Her friend, Levy I think, dropped down next to her with another fruit. "So is your name Crown, Prince, or Dragneel?" She asked. Gajeel snorted and I punched him, getting smiles out of the two girls. A first coming from ladies.

"The name's Natsu." I told them and the blonde frowned.

"Then why didn't you say so? Are all men backwards like this?" She took another bite of the fruit. Gajeel was having a laughing fit and I had an overwhelming urge to beat the life out of him.

"What's your name?" The blunette threw the remains of her fruit at Gajeel, this time hitting him on the forehead. He growled and she laughed.

"What's it to you, shrimp?" He grumbled, not really knowing what to make of her. Honestly, I was just as lost as he was.

"My name's not shrimp. It's Levy. Now, tell me yours before I throw this too." She pulled out a long dagger, complete with a shiny leather handle that fit into her small hand like a glove. She pretended to aim and Gajeel made an involuntary movement back. A small smile began to show on the blonde's face.

"His name's Gajeel." I decided to save his neck, no matter how much I wanted to break it myself. Gajeel glared at me and I glared back.

"Well, I'm Lucy. Nice to meet you." The blonde stood and tossed her fruit through a gap in the branches, her eyes tracking the little speck of white until it landed with a barely audible splash. She low-fived Levy's hand and looked back at us. "Next time, don't go swimming in the ravine."

"If you absolutely have to, though, make sure you lose some weight." Levy smirked. I just stared at her, her outright behavior confusing me.

"You hungry?" Luigi tossed us a couple of fruits with no warning, giving us barely enough time to react and save our rapidly falling dignity. It was delicious.

"Lu, I'm going down to the beach before the storm breaks. You coming?" Levy had one hand on a thick vine.

"Give me a minute. I'll catch up, kay?" Luigi bit down on another fruit. Levy nodded and stepped off the platform, dropping out of sight. Gajeel was on his feet in an instant.

"What's that shrimp's problem?" He snarled and Luigi laughed.

"She's fine. It's how we get down quickly." She finished the fruit and its remains followed that of the first. "I'm going to join Levy, you guys do what you want. But." She paused and made sure she had our attention. "Don't go swimming in that ravine again. Don't go where you can't see your next step. Don't destroy the tree. Also, make sure you drink these, they'll help with the cold. If you don't, Levy's going to skewer your heads to the tree." She pointed at a pair of rough wooden cups and walked over to the vine.

"Okay! Thanks, Luigi." I told her. She looked at me strangely and threw a small nut, hitting my nose.

"It's Lucy, idiot." She leaned on the vine and slid down, quickly disappearing from sight.

"What's wrong with these girls?" Gajeel snarled, aiming a hit at the tree. His fist collided with the bark but the tree held, not a single crack appearing.

"Let's go find out, shall we?" I felt a mischievous grin slide into place as I grabbed another pair of fruits, tossing one to my partner. Gajeel smirked as he caught it and we climbed down the rope, nowhere near as gracefully as the girls but almost as fast. A small path led into the woods, the end hidden by trees and plants of all sorts. We set off, keeping to the track.

"They're so different from the girls back home." I muttered, making my way around another gargantuan fern. Gajeel grunted in agreement. A thin sliver of hope appeared: if they didn't kill us, maybe we could escape the damnation our parents had decided to force on us.


	4. Chapter 4

**LUCY:**

"Lu, what are we going to do with them?" Levy stood knee-deep in the water, her hands crossed in a loose self-hug. I waded in to join her, enjoying the feel of the warm water on my feet.

"Don't know. Maybe they can build a ship and leave." I had no faith in my words. Levy took the time to voice my fears.

"I doubt it. They looked shocked at the way we talked to them, and in the books people like that are princes and princesses. They won't know how to build a ship, and we never had to." She stretched out her arms above her head, one of them dropping to her hair. I nodded absent-mindedly, thinking about the pink-haired man. Natsu, he said.

"Natsu…" I let the word slide from my tongue, testing it out. Levy looked at me in surprise, then glee.

"Is this what they call love at first sight?" She giggled. I felt a pink blush show up on my cheeks.

"N-no! Levy!" I protested. She giggled again and I splashed her, the droplets of salty water hitting her face. She blinked in shock before returning my attack. I pushed her shoulders back, sending her into the water, but she grabbed my wrist and pulled me after her. Submerged, I felt a sluggish kick to my stomach. We surfaced and I lunged forward to tickle her, reviving endless laughter and splashing. Suddenly Levy stopped, a wicked smile curving her lips.

"Oh, Lu! Look who's here!" She tilted her head towards the beach and I turned to see the two idiots watching us from the sand. They noticed me looking and started a fight, Natsu leaping to tackle Gajeel.

"Hey, Levy?" I leaned in to whisper into her ear. "Why don't we show them the high jump?" Levy's eyes widened and she grinned. I smirked and we waded towards the beach. The two men froze when they saw us coming, slowly untangling themselves into a standing position.

"Hey, Luigi." Natsu shot me a huge grin, messing up my name again. I wanted to smack his brains out but restrained myself with the high jump in mind. Instead I went for a sweet smile, brushing wet strands of hair out of my face.

"Hey. You guys want to go for our high jump?" I asked. They glanced at each other, slightly unsure. Levy smirked and her eyes shone with a slightly crazy light.

"I dare you to jump." She shot out, her lips curving up in a challenging grin. At that the two tensed up, their uncertainty turning into wariness.

"Sure. We'll jump." Natsu pushed his way around Gajeel. I grinned and led the way down the beach, breaking into an easy run. A few minutes of a steady jog and the beach ended to reveal a small bay. Towering cliffs crowded the far end while the woods took over the remaining water-edge space. A slab of rock jutted out above the water, casting a large shadow over the seamless plate of turquoise. The high jump.

"So where's your high jump?" Gajeel called, a tiny amount of awe in his voice. A very large and evil grin spread over Levy's face. She pointed at the slab.

"That's it." Her voice had a cheeky innocence to it that almost made me snort.

"That's over thirty feet!" Natsu yelled, clearly not expecting our jump to be so high. I ran up to the edge of the beach and dove into the water of the bay, surfacing a few feet away and shaking my head to clear the water from my eyes.

"So?" I called and dove underwater again. A quiet splash told me Levy had followed me, while another much louder splash indicated the two men entering the water after us. A tight smile crossed my face. They couldn't let a challenge go, could they?

We crossed the bay and I swam up to the cliff face, quickly finding the climb route. I pulled myself out of the water and scaled the rock. My hands and feet quickly slid into the familiar little chips without effort. Levy and I reached the slab with ease and let the first few drops of rain fall on our faces as we waited for the men to catch up. They did, faces red and out of breath.

"You guys… are insane." Natsu crawled away from the edge, letting Gajeel finish the climb. I walked up to the tip and glanced down at the water, making sure that no random animal surfaced right where we planned to dive. It happened once, with astounding consequences, and since then the first one to jump always checked.

"Are you really going to jump from thirty feet up?" Gajeel asked, clearly second-guessing us. I looked at Levy and she made a mock bow, her arms extending towards the tip. I replied with an exaggerated curtsy.

"Yep. So, as first-timers, you'll want to jump feet first and make sure that you're completely flat. If you open your arms or bend you knees you'll slam into the water. It will hurt. A lot." I explained. Natsu nodded vigorously while Gajeel just frowned.

"I can go first, just to show you." Levy pushed me out of the way.

"Didn't you want me to go first?" I asked her. She shrugged.

"Yeah, but you're better at the flip-and-dive thingy, so I'll just do it how they should." She sent the men to the side of the slab to make sure they could see her when she jumped. Then she took two long steps and launched off the slab, plummeting down like a rock. The moment her feet left the rock she clamped her hands to her sides and straightened out into a line, entering the water a few seconds later with a small splash. The men watched her with their mouths hanging open. I nudge Gajeel towards the tip and he shuffled forward, his reluctance clear. A small shake of his shoulders and he leaped, a shout escaping him as he flew towards the water. He made impact with a huge splash and a cheering Levy. Before I could push him, Natsu ran and jumped, yelling all the way down. I narrowed my eyes at his arms, which were flailing around as he hit the surface. That would hurt, but it was his problem that he didn't listen.

"It hurts!" He shouted as he surfaced, drawing an insult from Gajeel and a laugh from Levy. I rolled my eyes and moved up to the ledge, sliding my eyelids shut.

"Move away, you idiots. Do you want to be hit when she jumps?" I heard Levy drawl and the two noisily swim out of the way. Swinging my arms up I jumped, curving so I could spin on the way down. I reached towards my toes on the first spin and straightened out right after, just in time to seamlessly enter the water. A few bubbles escapes as I lazily curved my body to surface. I loved jumping from the ledge, how the wind whistled in my ears and the slight sting as my fingers pierced the water. I surfaced and let the water drip from my face as the rain pounded down without mercy.

"I wanna go again!" Natsu sounded thrilled. I smiled, happy that he enjoyed it, and slowly opened my eyes.

"Maybe tomorrow. It'll get darker soon as we still have to rinse off. The forest isn't the place to be after sunset." I told him and swam towards the shore.

"That sucks." Natsu muttered, but he followed. We ran back up the beach and I led them towards the treehouse, taking care to keep to the path. Normally Levy and I would shortcut through the trees but there were several potholes that the men wouldn't know to avoid, and they were heavy. Levy wasn't going to pull Gajeel out again, that's for sure. We climbed up and I moved towards a gap in the branches that was directly over the freshwater. A rarely used vine hung off the edge, going halfway down to the lake.

"Where are you going to rinse?" Gajeel stalked up to me and looked down. "Oh."

"Time to jump!" Levy pushed past us and leaped, this time doing a quick flip before entering the water with a small splash.

"Yosh! Let's do it!" Natsu shouted and jumped after her, once again yelling all the way. Gajeel rolled his eyes but jumped, far too soon after Natsu for comfort. I gave them a few moments to sort themselves out before diving after them, my body hurtling downwards faster than the raindrops could catch up. I surfaced and let Levy show them the tunnel to the waterfall.

"Hurry up, flamebrain." Gajeel shoved Natsu through the tunnel. I swore in exasperation and ran around them, ducking to enter the cave with the waterfall. It took up the far side, a sheet of water constantly flowing into the cave from a long gash in the rock. It was shallow enough to sit, so Levy and I stretched out as we waited for the men to sort themselves out.

"That," Levy dipped her head and shook away the water. "was amazing."

"Yeah! We should do it tomorrow!" Natsu agreed heartily and plopped down with a splash. I grinned and nodded in agreement while Gajeel snorted.

"So what are you guys going to do?" Levy asked the two, who responded with a wall of silence.

"Dunno. We don't have a way of getting back, but we never made it to Bosco. They'll let our parents know and someone will come to search. It's what always happens." Gajeel shrugged.

"Always happens?" I asked, my eyes narrowing.

"We're not the first ones to go missing." Natsu splashed water onto his and rubbed it through his spiky pink hair. I moved over to the waterfall and let the water run through my hair and down my back. The water here was colder, but it's not like it ever saw the sun.

"How long?" Levy took another dip and Gajeel waited for her to surface before answering.

"A couple weeks, but that's if they find us." He sounded unsure, as if the full weight of their situation had only just come through. Natsu nodded slowly.

"Well, you guys can stay with us until they pick you up!" I said cheerfully and stood to leave. Natsu looked at me with wide eyes.

"Thanks!" His face broke into an impossibly large grin and I smiled back, unable to resist.

"Shrimp here'll probably skewer us first." Gajeel muttered and Levy hit him on the back of his head. I frowned as I remembered the drinks.

"Did you drink the stuff I asked you to?" Two frozen and slightly guilty faces spoke volumes. "You idiots."

Levy snickered. "All the more entertainment for us." I couldn't help but grin at their terrified faces and made my way out of the cave. We climbed back up to the tree and I kicked the men out so Levy and I could change in peace.


	5. Chapter 5

**NATSU:**

Lucy kicked us out with gusto and my shoulder still hurt where she punched me when I asked why.

"Damn, those girls are tough." Gajeel muttered, nursing his own wounds. Levy had thrown a bowl at him when he took too long in getting out and she'd hit the back of his head.

"At this rate there won't be anything left of us to take back." I winced as my side began to sting. "That's not really all bad, though."

"Let's just dig our graves already." Gajeel's smirk settled back onto his face and he leaned against the tree, crossing his injured knee over his good one. I nodded and plopped down on the ground. "I swear, one day shrimp is gonna pin my head to the wall with that knife of hers." An image of Levy pulling out her knife crossed my mind and I shuddered.

"They'd be best buds with Erza." I moved my arm around, testing my shoulder. Gajeel's eyes widened and he pointed a finger at me.

"That demon doesn't need more hands. Ya hear me, Salamander?" He growled. I grinned at him.

"Hey, you! Come on up!" Levy's voice rang out, far too cheerful to be innocent. I gave Gajeel a worried glance before we climbed up but he only shrugged. There was no telling what they'd do.

"Ok!" Lucy greeted us with a drink in each hand and a sly smile on her lips. I was really worried for my general well-being at this point. "Drink up!" She handed the drinks out and I took a tentative sip, only to gag as the horrid taste stuck permanently to my mouth.

"This tastes like shit!" Gajeel forced out. Levy laughed and pulled out her knife.

"Drink up!" The little devil giggled and slowly turned the knife over in her palm.

"Or?" I coughed, desperately trying to get rid of the taste.

"Or you'll eventually start to numb up and freeze over. You took a dive in that pond, you have to drink the antidote." Lucy sounded far more reasonable than Levy's implied message with her knife. I dumped the entire thing down my throat and had a violent coughing fit right after. The stuff burned its way through to my stomach, leaving the taste as it went. At some point I wanted to barf but the stuff refused to come back up. A good thing too since the combined taste of the drink and throwup would have probably knocked me out. Gajeel wasn't faring any better, his hands on his throat as he tried to get rid of the taste.

"Rotten flesh would've tasted better." He muttered and spit on the floor. Levy immediately pulled out some weird nuts and bombarded him with them, screaming something about guests and manners.

"You good?" Lucy came up to me with a yellow pear-shaped fruit. "Peace offering."

"Never been better. Thanks" I bit down on the fruit and it washed away most of the aftertaste, leaving my throat warm. "Is Levy going to kill him?"

She glanced over at her rampaging friend and chuckled. "Nah, Levy's good. You know, when we first found the pond she fell in and had to drink the antidote for a week. This is probably her version of payback." She grinned. I stared as Levy pounced on Gajeel, flattening him to the ground, and gave him a fruit. He lay confused for a few seconds before taking the fruit and kicking Levy off.

"Seriously?" I asked. If this was Levy's version of payback, she'd be perfect for Erza's team.

"Yep." Lucy smiled and her whole face lit up. Her smiles always reached her eyes and they made her even more beautiful. I felt myself begin to blush and quickly shook the thoughts away. She glanced at my dripping clothes. "Do you have spare clothing by chance?"

"Nope. The wreck broke the ship up into pieces. We couldn't find anything that could be useful." I pulled off my soaked vest and she blushed.

"For tonight, Levy and I can probably throw something together. Tomorrow you guys will have to make your own set." She reined in the little devil and they rummaged through a mound of fabric they pulled out. I went over to Gajeel, who'd also pulled his shirt off.

"Stripper would've just dumped his clothes already." He smirked. I snorted at the memory of an almost naked Gray.

"Nah, he would've just lost them without noticing and Erza would bash his brains in." I muttered. Levy looked over her shoulder and eyed us critically, a sneaky smile spreading across her face as she leaned in to whisper to Lucy. The blonde laughed in response and Gajeel prodded my bruised shoulder.

"We're dead." He whispered and I nodded, suddenly feeling very worried.

"At least tomorrow we'll be making our own sets." I whispered back, remembering what Lucy had said. Gajeel snorted and rolled his eyes.

"We'll be dead before tomorrow, idiot." He smirked and I tackled him, landing a solid punch to his stomach. He responded with a strong kick but winced on impact. We kept the brawl going for a few minutes, warming ourselves up as the evening set in.

"Oi!" Lucy's voice interrupted our fight and we struggled to untangle ourselves. Once we were fully separated and standing she frowned, her eyes on my side. "You're bleeding. And you, you're not even standing on that leg." She added, pointing at Gajeel. Throwing the chunk of brown fabric she had in her hands at my face, she pulled a smirking Levy out of the treehouse and told us to change. I unfolded the ball and turned it into two pairs of loose brown pants and six thick pieces of rope. I threw half the stuff at Gajeel and we quickly changed, using the rope to secure the fabric around our waists and below out knees. It fit pretty well, considering they'd made it in under ten minutes.

"So far nothing deadly." Gajeel grimaced as he pulled out a barb from one of the ropes. "Found it."

I laughed and told the girls they could come up. Lucy looked us over and nodded in satisfaction before dealing out a pair of hard slaps.

"You idiots. Who fights when they're injured?" She sounded amused. I lifted my hand to the large red mark on my cheek that was already beginning to sting. These girls were officially insane. Levy came up with a large roll of bandages and some sort of paste in a bowl. She handed the paste to Lucy before stalking up to Gajeel with the bandages and ordering him to sit.

"You gonna break my leg, shrimp?" He muttered but sat. Levy rolled her eyes and squatted to pull up his pant leg.

"I wish. Unfortunately, I'm a kindred spirit and all I get to do is set your knee so that when you fight like the idiot you are it won't get worse." She drawled and began wrapping his knee. Lucy smirked and told me to unwrap the existing bandages.

"You have a freaking gash going down your side and you're fighting?" She scolded and rubbed the paste over the cut. I jerked at the first cold touch but quickly relaxed as her calloused fingers ran over my side. She frowned and her fingers froze for a few seconds before sharply yanking something out. A fat splinter covered in blood was held up for my inspection. She threw it out of the treehouse and finished applying the paste before wrestling the bandages away from levy and quickly wrapping up the entire mess.

"Make sure to renew the paste tomorrow, unless you're begging for an infection." She ripped the end of the bandage in half and took one side around before tying them into a knot. "Idiots."

I grinned. "Lucky idiots." She looked at me like I was insane before laughing and gently punching my stomach.

"Could've been worse." She agreed and left to put away her stuff. I wandered past a bickering Gajeel and Levy to the edge of the platform looking over the beach. The rain was pouring in earnest, a thick sheet of gray hovering over the view.

"Get that dreamy look off your face, Salamander. It doesn't suit you." Gajeel smirked from behind me, nearly making me jump. I was about to tackle him again when two nuts slammed into our foreheads.

"Hold it right there and get your butts set straight before we come over and help you do it." Lucy yelled and we both raised our hands in mock fear. She rolled her eyes and pointed at a new pair of blankets and pillows. "You two are over there for the night. Figure yourselves out and go to bed."

We nodded and she went over to Levy, already lost in some book. The two girls snuggled in their mound of pillows and read together, two sets of eyes scanning the pages before making sure it was okay to move on. I stared at Lucy a bit longer, taking in her relaxed features and intent chocolate eyes. A hard punch to my already beat up shoulder took over my attention.

"I said, get that dreamy look off your face."


	6. Chapter 6

**NATSU:**

Two weeks passed by in a rush of excitement and adventure. Every day the girls woke us up before the sun even had a chance and pulled us along to someplace new. They taught us how to make our own clothes and what food would kill us. Levy seemed to enjoy the entire nutrition lesson way too much, considering how she kept trying to get Gajeel to try a creepy-looking mushroom with little spikes. When it got unbearable to be in the sun we swam and jumped off the high dive, Lucy teaching us how to flip and dive. Life on the island was hard yet relaxed, no requirements or demands other than the occasional death threat. We didn't really consider what would happen if someone came to take us back.

I slumped against the palm and crossed my arms, my eyes focused on a tiny black speck on the horizon. It appeared last night and Gajeel thought it was a ship, maybe even one of the royal fleet.

"What are you thinking about?" Levy's voice rang out behind me, making me jump as I spun around to face her. She was crouching on the same palm, her blue hair tossed around by the strong wind and the devilish smile ever-present.

"The ship." I tilted my head towards the speck. She spared it a fleeting glance before returning her attention to me.

"You going to ask Lu?" She asked, her tone teasing. I stared at her, lost. She groaned and rolled her eyes. "Are. You. Going. To. Ask. Lu. If. She'll. Come. With. You." She ended each word with a firm poke to my chest. I felt my face heat up as I realized what she meant.

"Maybe. She'll probably want to stay here, though." I muttered and slumped back against the palm. To my surprise, Levy giggled.

"Well, I'm coming with you whether you want me or not. Someone needs to keep Gajeel in line, and you're not one to do it." Levy smirked.

"It's cause you like him." I pointed out and she blushed while punching my freshly healed shoulder.

"Shut it, you jerk." She growled. I pretended to cower in fear and she laughed. Her laugh was more boisterous than Lucy's. I teased her a bit more and she threatened me each time, but she never denied it. Interesting.

"There you are. Honestly, _one thing_ happens and you're off sulking." Lucy was running down the beach, her blonde hair bouncing across her back. She was hardly out of breath when she reached us, even though the treehouse was a fair distance away. I grinned at her and she smiled in return, her face lighting up. "I can't wait to meet more people!" She was practically squealing. Levy stood and waved at someone behind Lucy, and a slight turn of my head showed Gajeel trudging towards us.

"By the way, who won yesterday's fight?" Lucy leaned against the palm next to me, her shoulder touching mine. A giggle from Levy had me fighting the urge to run away as fast a possible.

"It was a tie, but I won." I declared and Lucy laughed.

"You idiot. A tie is a tie, so no one won." She poked my arm. Gajeel neared us and the palm shifted as Levy leaped on his back.

"Oi, shrimp! You nearly killed me yesterday with your piggyback ride!" Gajeel shouted and Levy laughed.

"Yeah, but it was fun." The blue-haired girl kicked him with one leg. "C'mon, move it!"

Gajeel adjusted her position with a slight toss before squinting at the ship. "Is it just me or is that thing getting closer?" he asked, shading his eyes with a hand. Levy pushed herself up on his shoulders to get a better look.

"Not just you." Lucy ran down to the water's edge. "It's really coming!"

Levy cheered and Gajeel grunted as she slapped his shoulders. "Watch it, shrimp."

Suddenly Lucy grabbed my shoulders and shook them violently. "Tell us about the other people." She demanded, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Well, they're… different." I had to search for a good word to describe the people back home.

"How?" Levy left Gajeel alone as she focused on me.

"For starters, they don't threaten people with knives." I muttered and Levy grinned. "They're all more formal and up-tight." I described my parents and the royal court. Lucy's eyes seemed to widen with each description until she made a swift judgment.

"They sound so boring." She muttered and I laughed.

Gajeel smirked. "There's always Erza's crew." He said and Levy slumped back down from her watchguard position.

"You mean the scary lady you told us about?" Lucy asked. I nodded and she exaggerated a shiver. "She doesn't sound boring at all."

"Chances are, they sent Erza's people to find us." I blew at my hair to get it out of my eyes. Levy whispered something in Gajeel's ear and they both sniggered.

"What?" Lucy asked, looking between the two. Levy shot her an innocent grin.

"Nothing, Lu. Let's go back and make some grenades, just in case they turn out to be unfriendly." Levy added a sly eyebrow lift to complete her persona. Lucy laughed and we followed the piggybackers back towards the tree line. We spent a good hour making bombs out of nuts and various 'stinkies', small little mushroom things that exploded into a disgusting cloud if squished even slightly. I'd fallen into a patch on my third day and Lucy wouldn't let me come into the treehouse until I got rid of the stench, which turned out to be nearly impossible. Levy made slingshots four rough slingshots that worked nearly as well as the kingdom's catapults and Gajeel even strapped one to his makeshift belt. The day passed in a blur of laugher, smoke, and accidents.

 **LUCY:**

I was snuggled in my mountain of pillows with am old book when Natsu pointed through a gap and shouted for the world to hear.

"It's them! Erza's crew!" He yelled, immediately capturing everybody's attention. Gajeel ran over to him and shoved him aside.

"No way…" He muttered. Levy wiggled under his arm to peek.

"Lu! Look at it! It's so big!" She squealed. I untangled myself from the pillows and stood on tiptoe to look over Gajeel's shoulder. It was a pretty impressive sight. The ship was massive, with multiple decks and a single square sail. It was close enough for us to make out the people on its deck. The blob of scarlet was unmistakable.

The excitement took over and I pulled Natsu towards the vine. "C'mon, let's go meet them!" Levy cheered and ran after us, leaving a smirking Gajeel to follow. We raced down to the beach in time to see them send out a small boat with a few crew members, included the scarlet-haired monster.

"Oi, I see Gray." Natsu muttered, a hand shading his eyes. He'd changed a lot while staying on the island: his skin was tanner and his hand grew out to almost reach his shoulders. Small scars from out various adventures-gone-wrong stood out and hard callouses could be seen on his palms. I liked him more like this, but I would never tell him. His ego was big enough as it is.

"You should launch a stinkbomb at him." Gajeel smirked and handed Natsu his slingshot, but the pink-haired man shook his head.

"With Erza there? No way." He protested while Levy giggled evilly.

"I can't wait to meet her!" Levy cheered and jumped on Gajeel's back. Gajeel, in turn, made a horrified face that cracked me up.

"How 'bout no." He muttered. The boat pulled up to the shore and a man with raven hair and a lack of a shirt cupped his hands around his mouth to shout.

"Oi! Flamebrain! What's your problem?" He yelled and Natsu responded likewise.

"Same to you, ice freak!"

"Tabasco freak!"

"Pervert!"

"Idiot!"

"Stripper!"

"Shut it!" A woman with long scarlet hair and a very flashy sword slammed her fist against the shirtless boy's face, sending him flying into a boy with bright orange hair. They had a quick spat before the woman kicked them both out of the boat and began to pull it ashore. I gently prodded Natsu's shoulder.

"C'mon, you have to introduce us." I said teasingly and Levy heartily agreed from her position on Gajeel's back. He carried her down towards the newcomers and I followed a little way behind Natsu.

"Hey, Erza." Natsu greeted the scarlet-haired woman. She gave him a curt and a once-over.

"Natsu." She replied. "What on earth are you wearing?" I felt my eyes execute a splendid roll. Natsu was in a pair of baggy pants that he made on his second day and a slightly torn shirt. It suited him, adding to the survivor look he'd taken on over the past two weeks. I didn't understand what she didn't like about his clothes. They were perfectly functional and comfortable.

The orange-haired boy winked at me and before I could blink he slid his arm around mine. "You look absolutely stunning, my fair maiden. Would you care to bless me with your name?" He murmured and adjusted his glasses with a delicate hand. I flipped him over onto the sand with pathetic ease.

"Back off cause you already lost, playboy." I growled and felt my face heat up. Why, _why_ did I say that? The raven-haired boy let out a long whistle.

"Feel the burn, Loke." He snickered and Loke groaned from his place on the sand.

"How was I supposed to know she would flatten me? Most women, by the way, are flattered when I compliment them." He added with a finger jab in my direction. Levy drew her ever-present knife and aimed it at Loke's face.

"Watch it, playboy." She threatened. Loke scrambled up and his behind Erza, who merely punched him in the stomach. Gajeel simply snorted.

"Put that thing away, shrimp. It ain't a good first impression to skewer someone's head off." He teased her. She mimed a stab at the back of his head but put her pointy toy away, making Loke heave a relieved sigh. Gray strode forward with a smirk and paused in front of me, obviously waiting for something. When I didn't react he gave an awkward shrug.

"I'm Gray Fullbuster, head of Royal Guard Regiment B at your service, my lady." He made a small bow that had me lost. Shrugging off any lingering concern, I gave them a wide smile.

"Hey! Name's Lucy, and my friend there is Levy. Welcome to our island!" I said cheerfully, indicating Levy when I said her name. She waved from Gajeel's back and the newcomers stared openly once they realized that Gajeel was carrying her.

"Well, Lucy, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Erza Scarlet, head of Royal Guard Regiment A. This is Loke Celest, head of Royal Guard Regiment C." Erza overcame her shock first and indicated the orange-haired man who winked while I shot him a scowl.

"What are you guys staring at?" Levy asked. Gray coughed something unintelligible before speaking up.

"It's not a common occurrence for Prince Redfox to carry someone around on his back." He managed, looking very uncomfortable. Gajeel's face took on a shade of red and he gave Gray a venomous glare. Levy laughed, jumped down and came over to stand by me.

"It's not like I gave him much choice." Levy giggled. Erza drew her sword and took a threatening step towards us. Levy narrowed her eyes and drew her knife.

"Have they been harming you, Natsu, Gajeel?" Erza asked in a dangerous voice, keeping her eyes trained on Levy's weapon. Natsu snorted and Gajeel rolled his eyes.

"Chill, Erza. Shrimp here can be a bit feisty, that's all." Gajeel smirked. Levy snorted and in a fluid movement drew a nut and flung it at Gajeel, hitting right between his eyes. Natsu burst out laughing while the newcomers stared in shock for the second time that day.

"Just like the first time!" Natsu forced out in between bouts of laughter. I giggled at the memory, especially Levy's progress from a spoon to her knife. It was Levy's turn to smirk while Gajeel groaned.

"Natsu, your father requests your presence at the palace as soon as possible. King Jiemma is becoming impatient." Erza's voice was curt and Natsu's face became stony.

"Of course." He replied in the same curt tone before turning to me. "Can you come, Luce?"

"The hell, flamebrain?" Gray spluttered. Natsu threw a glare in his direction and Gray shut up.

Levy giggled. "I'm coming, no matter what you guys say. Someone needs to keep this idiot's weight in check and obviously none of your have the guts to do it." She snickered and poked Gajeel's stomach with her elbow. Loke choked on something and Erza merely nodded after a few seconds of frozen silence.

"If Prince Redfox agrees." She said slowly. Gajeel smirked and ruffled Levy's hair.

"Shrimp can come. She'll be entertaining." He smirked and Levy aimed a full-out punch that he caught.

"Luce?" Natsu regained my attention, his onyx eyes slightly pleading. My head was desperately running through all the placed and people he described, just how different they were. It would be tough, living in Natsu's world, but for him I would do it without a backwards glance.

"Of course." I smiled and he was visibly relieved. I wondered why he wanted me to come along so badly. There was no way he felt the same way, right?

"Yosh! Let's go!" Natsu cheered. I laughed at his extreme mood change. "Hey, can you get some of the cursed water? Maybe the people back home can make an antidote that doesn't taste as bad."

"Sure, but it was fun watching you gag in disgust." Levy gave an exaggerated sigh and Gray laughed. Erza demanded to know what the cursed water was and Natsu promised an explanation once we were on the ship. Levy and I left to get the water, a feat that took us a solid hour. On they way back we stopped at our treehouse and packed some spare clothing and a small pack of the Sun Flower, just enough for an antidote. When we rejoined the group Natsu and Gray had started a fight and Erza looked thoroughly pissed. Loke was teasing Gajeel about a crush, whatever that was. Seeing us, Erza promptly broke the two fighters apart and everyone climbed into the boat, Gray and Loke rowing us to the main ship. It was the beginning of a new adventure, the likes of which Levy and I had never even dreamed of.


	7. Chapter 7

**LUCY:**

"…and then they saved us!" Natsu finished his heart-stopping tale of how he and Gajeel took a near-fatal dip in the cursed pond with a dramatic flourish. He then proceeded to topple over backwards from the barrel he was sitting on and flatten Gray, who just happened to pass by with a bucketful of water.

"Watch where you're going, flamebrain!"

"Stripper!"

"Tabasco freak!"

"Ice freak!"

"Idiot!"

"Oh? Do I hear fighting?" Erza loomed over the brawling men, sword in hand and eyes narrowed. They untangled themselves in record time and cowered before the scarlet-haired demoness.

"N-no, ma'am!" They both whimpered, sweat pouring down their backs. I laughed, enjoying the not-so-rare scene of Erza and the Idiots.

"So, Lucy," Erza turned her back on the brawlers and they quickly resumed, although they tried to keep it down, "How does the water work?"

I frowned, going through the lists of possible rules Levy and I had come up with. "Well, physical contact of any kind guarantees numbing. If you poke a finger in there, you'll quickly lose feeling."

"But the numbing doesn't spread. It only affects the places the water came in contact with. These two idiots," Levy pointed at Gajeel and Natsu, "took a full dip, so they could've died."

"We don't know what happens if you drink it." I finished, pushing stray hairs out of my face. Erza nodded slowly.

"Why did you save them?" Gray muttered, pushing past an irritated Natsu.

"Oi—" Gajeel was cut off by a smirking Levy.

"I almost didn't, cause they're so damn heavy, but Lu's too nice. She bribed me with their reactions when they took the antidote." The petite girl pulled out her knife and wiped the sparkling surface on the edge of her shirt.

"How is that nice?" Gajeel muttered, drawing laughs from the group. I noticed Natsu had begun to sulk again, something he'd been doing more over the past couple days. I walked over to him while Gray and Gajeel used their fists to settle a new argument.

"Hey, Natsu, what's wrong?" I leaned against the wall of the cabin. A coil of rope came flying at my face and I ducked under it, grabbing Natsu's arm and pulling him away to the nose of the ship. He didn't resist, but Levy's giggle was more than heard.

He pulled ahead and leaned against the railing. "It's nothing."

"Sure. Now spill." I aimed a punch at his shoulder, which he caught with his hand.

He sighed, but spilled. "The reason Erza's in such a hurry to get back is because my parents set up an arrangement with the king of the Tuneric Kingdom where I have to marry his daughter, Princess Minerva, for an alliance. The entire thing just sucks." A grimace made its way across his features.

"Can't you just tell them you don't want to do it?" I asked. He shook his head.

"It doesn't work that way. We don't get a voice in the decision because it's for the kingdom. It's not about the individual." He sounded defeated, and I decided that I didn't like him like that.

"Then tell me about the kingdoms." I nudged his shoulder, catching him by surprise with the sudden topic change. "You'll deal with the arrangement when you get there, but for now try and forget it. Don't let it weigh down your days on the ship."

He grinned and launched into a long, blood-curling tale about the five kingdoms: his own, the Balaur Kingdom; the Inima Kingdom; the Carti Kingdom; the Fier kingdom; and, of course, the Tuneric Kingdom. Each one sounded stunning and strange, full of weird people and customs. He was describing the rulers when a set of names caught my attention.

"Wait." I cut him off. "Layla and Jude Heartfilia?"

"Yeah, they're the king and queen of Inima. Why?" He asked, sounding slightly confused.

"They sound… familiar." I had to search for a word to describe the nagging feeling at the back of my head. "Don't know why though."

He perked up as soon as I mentioned them sounding familiar. "Maybe it's from before you came to the island!"

"Maybe…" It bugged me just how familiar the names sounded. "But I don't remember _anything_ from before the island. I can't even imagine a moment from before."

"You're weird." He summed up. I glared at him, trying to look threatening and failing miserably.

"Says the idiot with pink hair!"

"It's not pink! It's salmon!"

"It's pink."

"It's not!"

"Get that dreamy look off your face!" Gajeel's voice came around the cabin. We both froze before I threw a nut at Natsu and hit him on the nose, making him jump back in surprise.

"It's pink." I whispered teasingly.

"It's not!" He whispered back with a large grin.

"Yes it is. Suck it up and deal with it."

"Why should I, when it's not?"

"Cause it is."

"It's not."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXX**

By the time we came into port Gajeel and Natsu had ripped through the stores of motion-sickness medicine and were barfing their lives out until we docked and Erza brought a fresh supply. According to Gray, it wasn't princely to come home a green-faced mess. I sat next to Levy on the edge of the ship with our backs to the docks, both of us completely ignoring Loke's numerous attempts to get us to move somewhere safer. We'd finally reached land and I didn't want to stop staring at the sea.

"So what's your deal?" I asked. Levy had been really happy the last couple days. Now she just giggled and a pale blush ran across her cheeks.

"Turns out Gajeel's betrothed passionately declared her love for Gray and threatened to flood the castle with her tears if she was denied her true love." She grinned. "Or something like that."

I laughed. "So now you're free to keep him all to yourself?"

"She can't ruin my diet plan for him." Levy smirked.

"Oh, he's dead." I muttered. Levy had outlined a very detailed food plan for Gajeel, all with the goal of making him lighter to carry when she had to save him. She pulled off her headband and shook out her wavy blue hair, letting the strong wind blow it out of her face.

"Something like that." She smiled softly, her eyes lost in a pleasant memory.

"Levy, what did you do…?" I let the sentence trail off and she blushed furiously.

"N-no! Lu! Definitely no!" She stuttered. I couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction.

"I'm kidding, Levy, but I know you like him. A lot."

"The heavy idiot? No way, not in a million years." She paused and smiled sneakily. "But you like Natsu, no?"

Protesting stubbornly was the first thing I though of, but then I decided to play around a bit. "Maybe just a little bit."

"Lu! How does that even work?" Levy giggled and slipped her headband back on.

"Don't know. Can't really say I've met a guy before, much less had to put up with him for over two weeks." I flicked my hair out of my face.

"Ladies, we've docked." Gray's voice took us by surprise and we spun around to see him in a full outfit.

"That's a first, Gray." I greeted him. He cocked his head to the side and I rolled my eyes. "You didn't lose your shirt yet, stupid."

"Don't worry. It'll be gone soon." Natsu spoke up. I did a double-take on his outfit, a contraption much more fancy and complicated than what he'd been wearing during the journey. It hugged his frame in a mass of red and gold and I couldn't help but smirk.

"You look weird." I told him. He spread his hands in a what-can-I-do-about-it gesture and Levy sniggered. "But better than him." I jabbed my finger at Gray, who stayed true to Natsu's word and lost his shirt.

Natsu grinned. "Hear that, Gray?"

"Watch it, Tabasco freak." Gray looked around for his shirt. Blue fabric flashed against red and I zeroed in on Natsu, my hands on my hips and a frown in place.

"Give." I stretched out my hand to emphasize my point. Natsu smiled sheepishly and handed over a blue and grey formal shirt. The moment Gray saw his missing belonging he tackled Natsu and the two rolled around on the ship's floorboards.

"Prince Dragneel, the king and queen request your presence at the castle." Erza loomed behind the brawling men in her commander's uniform, a gorgeous outfit of a blue skirt with high brown boots and silver armor chestplate. It wasn't at all different from what she wore throughout the journey, but it still looked fabulous.

Natsu kicked Gray into the sideboard of the ship and with a cheerful wave strolled down to the dock. He looked confident, like he owned the place – although he did. Halfway down the walk he spun around and his eyes locked on me. He beckoned with his hand but I stayed where I was, not knowing what to do. Gajeel came up to me with Levy in tow, his usual smirk in place.

"C'mon, bunny girl. Salamander and I are gonna introduce you two to our dear parents." He drawled and gave me a sharp poke to the back. A stumble or two and we were walking down the runway to meet up with Natsu.

"Try to not punch us when we're in the court." Natsu grinned and offered me his arm. I smiled and took it with an exaggerated flourish.

"No guarantees." I smirked. He lead me through a mass of people and up to a carriage. The box-on-wheels was decorated with the royal seal, a dragon's head, and had two tons of various decorative stuff. Natsu opened the door for me and I climbed in, seating myself on one set of velvety built-in couches. Levy climbed in right after me, closely followed by Natsu and then Gajeel. A sharp crack from the outside and the carriage moved.

"Where are we going?" I asked, my eyes not able to keep up with the rapidly changing scenery I could see through the window.

"To the palace. Our parents are waiting for us there." Natsu explained. Gajeel scowled and crossed his arms.

"What should we do when we meet them?" Levy threw a playful kick and Gajeel, her bare foot colliding with his knee. Erza had tried to get us to wear shoes, but there weren't any that fit and bare feet felt better.

"Don't throw stuff, don't make fun, and don't threaten them. Ya got all that, shrimp?" Gajeel smirked at Levy. She drew her knife and he jabbed a finger at it. "That's exactly what I'm talking about."

"Oops." She giggled and returned the knife to its place. It was usually hidden in a thick slip of fabric on the side of her shorts, which she kept knee-length, but since we were supposed to fit in as much as possible Erza gave us enough fabric for two long-ish dresses. They fell down to our ankles and restricted our movements to the point of being uncomfortable, but Levy still had plenty of fabric to hide her knife in.

"Erza taught us basic manners, you twerps." I jerked back as a branch scraped against the carriage window and a fistful of leaves jabbed at my eyes.

"Yeah, but your manners go out the window when you're around us." Natsu pointed out and Gajeel snorted.

"Speaking of which, where's Erza and the other two?" Levy played with the fabric around her knife while Gajeel watched her closely.

"They're probably helping unload the ship. They should be at the palace later, so you'll see them around." Natsu shrugged.

"Why aren't we helping them?" Levy asked, her fingers moving on their own.

"Cause in the kingdom there are different… ranks in society. Erza, popsicle, and Loke are part of the working rank while Gajeel and I are royalty. Different ranks are expected to do different things." Natsu explained.

"Think about it this way. The peasants grow the food, which the working rank and the royal rank eat. The working rank makes the stuff the peasants need to grow food. The royals make decisions to better all the ranks." Gajeel spread the information out for us and I immediately saw a hole. It sounded like everyone except for the royals had an actual job. Decisions can't be that hard, can they?

The carriage rolled to a stop and a man dresses in a perfect suit opened the door with a bow. "You Highnesses, my ladies." Natsu immediately jumped out and offered me a hand. I ignored him and softly thanked the man as I climbed out. He inclined his head in response and I was nearly flattened by an overly excited Levy.

"Lu! We're here!" She scooted around me and froze in awe. The palace was absolutely magnificent. A massive building of pale grey stone rose in front of us, flanked by colorful gardens and a massive lake. The royal crest hung above a pair of giant wooden doors, depicting a fiery dragon surrounded by whirls of blue. The men chuckled at our astounded faces and I threw a half-hearted punch as my eyes zeroed in on a high ledge. I grabbed Levy's arm and pointed excitedly, barely holding in a squeal.

"We. Must. Go. Tonight." She whispered and I nodded.

"Hey, Natsu? Can we go to the pond for a swim later today?" I asked innocently. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he shrugged in agreement. Gajeel opened to doors for us and we had to be dragged through the giant entrance hall to the throne room. It was better than in the books. The throne room was absolutely magical to my eyes.

A wide dark red carpet edged with gold led from the doors to a raise platform that was completely covered in carpet and framed with a stripe of gold. Two thrones were centered on the platform, each massive and gilded. The one to my right was slightly bigger and had dark red cushions that matched the carpet while the one to my left had deep blue cushions. Neither looked at all comfortable. A man and a woman, who I could safely guess were the king and queen, occupied the thrones. On their left stood a single man who looked a lot like Gajeel while on their right stood a very large man and a slight woman. She could've been his daughter, but I couldn't see the family resemblance. The man had tan skin and heavy outlines eyes, his pale blonde hair tied back into a braid and a string of gigantic beads around his neck. The woman had long black hair and slanted olive eyes, her gaze solely focused on Natsu. She wore an elegant blue dress with intricate golden designs and silver fur. I instantly decided that I didn't like her, and by how her hand jumped to her knife Levy didn't either.

The king and queen stood once we entered and I focused my attention on them. The man closely resembled Natsu, having similar features and lean build. His red hair fell in loose spikes around his face and was pushed down by a very heavy-looking crown. The queen looked to be very gentle, with delicate features and soft brown eyes. Her vivid blue hair framed her face and, unlike the king, she used her small tiara to hold her hair away from her face. Clear relief was written on both of their faces, slightly more on the queen's, but neither made a move towards their son.

"Mother, Father, I have returned safe and well along with Prince Redfox of Fier." Natsu said stiffly.

"Welcome back, Prince Dragneel of Balaur, Prince Redfox of Fier." The queen's voice filled the large room and a score of various people that lines the edges scrambled to bow.

"Who are your guests?" The king called out.

"It is my pleasure to present Lady Lucy and Lady Levy to the court. They ensured our survival and health while we were stranded." Natsu announced and we made sure to make small curtsies, just like Erza had instructed.

"What is their heritage?" The queen asked.

"They have no memories of their lives before the island and have no recollection of a surname." Natsu answered and the king flicked his wrist.

"Have a servant escort them to a guest room and come to our private rooms at once, both of you." The king commanded and immediately two women pulled Levy and me away from the hall. I shot a panicked glance at Natsu, but he just smiled reassuringly and moved towards a side door, followed closely by a scowling Gajeel. They greeted the older version of Gajeel and pushed through the door until I couldn't see them anymore. We let the women pull us towards an intricately carved door and into a large room. Two beds occupied opposite walls, both very large and with more pillows than I'd ever seen. The headboard rose almost to the ceiling and a thin white veil feel to the ground in a tent-like shape. A large, slightly furry rug was spread across the floor and disappeared under the beds. Directly across from the entrance there was a glass door that led to the outside, with two tall windows flanking it. Each had it's own curtain, a neat mess of layers of white and silver fabric. Two more doors each led off to different rooms and a pair of couched faced each other in the center. To sum it up, it was all way too fancy and way too much.

"My lady, would you like me to draw a bath for you?" The woman asked with a bow. I nodded in confusion and followed her to a small room with a white walls and floors. Nothing in the room made any sense.

"Um, could you explain what this stuff is? We've never lived in a house before, so…" I trailed off at her shocked gaze. Then she broke into a smile and I felt my own lips lifting in a grin.

"Of course." She gave me a detailed tour, making sure to explain the bath, shower, sink, and toilet, as well as the different types of soaps and facial creams. Then she led me around my room and introduced me to the walk-in closet, balcony, alarm clock, heater, and a myriad of various little things I was certain I'd never use. Levy plopped down on a bed and watched my class, silently taking her own notes while another woman tried to get her to move. I took a heavenly bath without soap – I never used them in my life and had no reason to start – and let the maid dress me up in the plainest dress she could find.

"Can't I just wear my dress?" I asked her as she brought out a pale blue gown. She shook her head with a teasing smile and I resigned, slipping on the contraption and letting her tighten the corset, she'd called it. She pushed me towards the thing called a mirror and I saw a person in there, wearing the same thing I was.

"That's your reflection. It is a copy of you and will do whatever you do. Try moving your hands." The woman instructed and I did, letting out a small gasp as the reflection copied my movements.

"So that's basically me." I double-checked and when the woman nodded I took the time to look myself over. I liked my face, especially my brown eyes. My blonde hair fell down to my waist and a few strands curled over my shoulders. The dress fit nicely, a simply pale blue gown with a white satin border at the hem. The sleeves went down to my elbows and then widened, hanging loosely around my forearms. A line of white satin framed the border across my chest and shoulders, as well as the start of the skirt. It was a pretty gown but not a functional one, and it was certainly more fancy than what the woman had on.

"Would you like me to do your hair?" The woman asked, moving her own white strands away from her face.

"No thanks… um, what's your name?" I felt awkward, having her help me so much but me not even knowing her name.

"Mirajane." She truly smiled then, the light reaching her eyes.

"Mirajane. Nice to meet you." I offered her my hand and she shook it hesitantly with raised eyebrows. "Can you help me while I stay here? I mean, I don't know what to do or where to go, so…" I began to play with my sleeve.

"Of course, Lady Lucy." She bowed. I shook my head and she looked confused.

"Please, can you call me Lucy?" I asked, the new lady thing eating at my patience. Mirajane smiled and agreed just as Levy came out from the closet. She wore a yellow gown with the same design as mine, complete with white borders and all. Her wild blue hair was pulled back with a new white ribbon. She squealed when she saw me and we hugged tightly while the women looked on in amusement.

"You look gorgeous, Lu." She sighed, looking me up and down.

I grinned. "So do you, Levy!" I gestured for Mirajane to come and join us. "Meet Mira!"

Levy waved and indicated her helper. "Meet Cana. She's so nice!" Cana giggled slightly at the compliment.

"Do you want to hear about the island?" I asked them. They nodded and we pulled them to the couches, completely ignoring their protests.

"We really shouldn't—" Mira tried to reason with us, but we weren't ladies of the court. Far from it, actually.

"Is it because of the rank thing the Gajeel told us about?" Levy cut her off and their eyes widened slightly as she used his name before they nodded. "We grew up on an island where none of that mattered, so you'll have to teach us if you want to have a chance at getting away." With that, Levy quickly pulled out her knife and Cana burst into laughter.

"This is gonna be so good!" She snorted and Levy grinned.

"Alright! Let's hear about this island, and then we'll teach you some basic rules before you go to dinner tonight." Mira exclaimed cheerfully and we settled on the couches, Levy and I recounting our numerous adventures on the island. When we reached the part where Natsu and Gajeel invaded the women leaned in giggled at the antics of the men. Levy's account of how she threatened Gajeel with fruit peals and nuts seemed to send Cana over the edge with laughter while Mira enjoyed any moments that involved all four of us together.

"You know, I think Lu likes Natsu." Levy smirked and I felt heat spread across my cheeks as I stubbornly refused. Mira giggled with joy and Cana watched her white-haired friend with suspicious eyes.

"Well, Levy likes Gajeel!" I blurted out and Levy jumped up to tackle me. We were having a quick spat when Mira interfered with some well-chosen words.

"If you left your island to come with them, then don't you both harbor feelings?" She asked and we froze, pink running across our faces. Cana smirked and Mira sighed happily. "I can matchmake again!"

"What's that?" I asked, Cana's horrified stare driving my curiosity up the wall.

"You wouldn't. He's already engaged." The brunette muttered but Mira was oblivious.

"What's matchmaking?" Levy leaned in to gain their attention, which sent Mira into a fresh fit of giggles and Cana rolled her eyes.

"You don't want to know, Levy." She flicked her thick brown hair out of the way and stood. "Well! Let's get your lessons started, shall we?"

 _Just like that, the two island girls had made their first friends._


	8. Chapter 8

**NATSU:**

My mother pulled me into a tight hug the moment the door to their private rooms closed behind us. I understood that appearances in court were important, especially when the Tuneric ruler was there, but I didn't like it. It always made reunions really awkward.

"I was so worried about you." She whispered. Pulling back, she placed her hands on my shoulders and looked me over. "You've changed."

"Yeah. It was tough." I smiled slightly and her eyes lit up.

"Tell me all about it after you speak with your father. I want to hear about the ladies." She winked and I felt a hot blush creep up my neck. My mother didn't exactly support the arranged marriage, but she had no say in it either. The King had the final word on these decisions. She gave me a slight push towards the King's office and I knocked on the door before entering.

"So, Natsu, you have returned." My father didn't turn around to acknowledge me. Even since the Tunerics had begun to threaten our borders he'd withdrawn from the world, diving headfirst into keeping the kingdom running. Sometimes I barely recognized him as the same person who's my father. He used to be very carefree and adventurous, but lately he'd become cold and short-tempered. My mother told me to be patient with him, but patience wasn't something I was good at.

"Yes." I replied quietly, not expecting anything but business as his response. I wasn't disappointed.

"Your timing was choking. Jiemma was getting ready to leave. Now that you're here, the marriage will proceed as planned. The ball will be held in two days, the engagement party in a week, and the wedding in two weeks. That is all." He resumed his writing and I left, closing the door behind me with a snap. I found my mother waiting for me in the sitting room, a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other. I sat down opposite from her and she finished reading the passage before setting down her book.

"Wendy! Come here! Your brother will tell us about his adventure!" She called and my little sister scampered out the next room and tackled me in a hug.

"You're back!" She squealed. Wendy could be shy, but around me she most certainly wasn't. I set her down on the couch next to me and she grabbed a cookie from my mother's tray, her big brown eyes trained on my face.

"Well, when we first found the island we were really excited because it wasn't on any of the maps. However, that same night there was a violent storm and the ship was thrown against the rocks. I broke in half like a stick. Our generator was broken and our food supply was thrown out." I decided against mentioning that it was mainly Gajeel's fault that the generator was broken and my fault that the food burned down to a crisp. "So we decided to go and explore the island. That's when we met the ladies. We stared at each other for a few seconds, but then Lady Lucy pulled Lady Levy away and they ran into the forest."

"Why did they do that?" Wendy asked, her mouth full of cookie. I ruffled her hair and she smiled.

"Because they grew up all alone on that island and they had never met other people before. It must've been scary for them." I highly doubted that. "We ran after them, but there was a hidden ravine and we didn't know about it, so we fell in." No way was I going to mention that we fell in because we were fighting. Absolutely no way. "At the bottom there was a cursed pond, with water so cold that we lost feeling in our bodies almost instantly. We could barely even climb out onto the shore. Fortunately, Lady Lucy and Lady Levy found us and took us to their home."

"Where did they live?" My mother asked while I paused for breath.

"There was a giant tree, so wide that twenty men couldn't wrap around it. About halfway up there was a large platform, and the girls made their home there. The branches were very thick and acted as walls, but the gaps were so big that you could easily fall through. They had very old furniture, so old you couldn't find it on the markets today. They had a woven roof made from vines and leaves, and it was completely waterproof. They used dozens of pillows and worn blankets for beds, and they had hand-made tables, dishes, and utensils. They would use a vine to get down and they climbed up the tree to get into their home. When they had something with them that was too big to climb with, or too heavy, they used a pulley system to pull it up. That's what they did with me and Gajeel, although we weren't awake for that.

"When we woke up, the ladies had already gone and gathered fruits and oysters for food. They were both very strange at first, since they hadn't grown up around people they didn't act like people here do."

"Be honest, Natsu." My mother said with a small smile. She was asking what I thought, not what I was supposed to say. Wendy watched me with round eyes.

"Well, the first thing Lucy asked me was if I had a death wish. Then Levy threw a spoon, a nut, and the remains of her fruit at Gajeel, hitting him between the eyes with all of them when he didn't want to tell her his name. In the end she pulled out a knife and threatened to pin his head to the wall if he didn't tell her. Neither of them understood my title, and Lucy even asked if my name was Crown, Prince, or Dragneel." My mother giggled at that and Wendy fell over in laughter. "When I said my name was Natsu, Lucy asked if all men were backwards like that. After, she told us to not go swimming in the ravine and Levy added that if we really wanted to we would have to lose weight." Wendy toppled off the couch. "The girls left for the beach and told us that we could do whatever we wanted to, but they wouldn't be able to save us if we fell into the ravine again. We decided to follow them and found them wrestling in the sea. When they saw us they challenged us to jump from their high dive, which is a ledge over thirty feet up! We agreed, not knowing how high it was, and when they first showed it to us I didn't believe that they would actually jump."

My mother's eyes widened slightly when I mentioned how high it was. "I couldn't have been more wrong. They climbed up the rock with ease, while Gajeel and I struggled to get up. Then they told us how to jump and not get hurt and Levy showed us how to do it. She just walked off, no warning or anything. It was a complete surprise to us. Then I jumped and hit my arms – they hurt for days! Gajeel managed to hit his chin. During the jump the water rushes up to you and you can hear the wind whistle in your ears while you fall. Lucy did a flip and dive effortlessly, and there was barely any splash when she entered the water. I wanted to go again, but she said it would be dark and we still had to rinse off the salt water. We ran back to their treehouse and they showed us another jump, but this one ended in a freshwater lake. We all jumped and they led us to a cave with a freshwater waterfall where we washed off the saltwater before using a vine to climb back up to the treehouse." During my recount of the high jump, my mother gasped once or twice and Wendy's eyes showed awe and admiration. I reminded myself to teach her how to jump. "Since out clothes were completely wet, the girls made us some basic pants in under ten minutes. Then they gave us the antidote for the cursed pond, which was a very disgusting drink. It was the worst thing I've ever tasted. Levy threatened us with her knife when we didn't want to drink it, but Lucy explained that we could die if we didn't drink it. After we finally got the stuff down, they gave us these sweet-tasting fruits that washed away the horrible aftertaste. The next day they taught us how to make our own clothes and which food we should never eat. Every single day for the two weeks we were there they would wake us up before the sun and take us somewhere new or teach us something new. They both have amazing aim and are very good hand-to-hand fighters. Levy knows what she's doing with that knife of hers and Lucy is extremely skilled with a short dagger. Both of them love reading, and they had a large collection of old books. They had most of them memorized, but they said that they were still finding new ones sometimes when they cleaned out the old library."

My mother was drinking in every single word. I got the feeling that she was liking the two girls. "When Erza's crew came to pick us up, Levy said she'd come with us whether we wanted to or not because someone needed to watch Gajeel's weight." Wendy cracked up again and my mother smiled. "I asked Lucy and she said yes. They quickly became friends with the crew, and they refuse to use titles. To them, all people are the same. You know, Lucy flipped Loke onto his back when he tried to flirt with her." Wendy grabbed another cookie and had a crazy grin on her face, undoubtedly imagining Lucy flattening Loke.

"I would like to meet them in person tomorrow. They sound very interesting." Mother said, her tone slightly wistful. I remembered that she hadn't been born into royalty, and I figured that they reminded her of her childhood. "No wonder you've changed so much, living with such fine maidens."

"You have no idea." I muttered, Levy's knife flashing in my mind.


	9. Chapter 9

**LUCY:**

By the time we were invited to go to dinner I was ready to slam my head against the wall over and over until the rules that Mira and Cana had taught us scooched over and made room for something more useful than how to hold a spoon. Levy looked just as cooked as I did, staring blankly at the floor while mouthing the rules. Sit up straight. Elbows off the table. Don't speak unless spoken to. Pinkies up when holding a cup, and only hold it by the handle. The entire affair was sounding less like dinner and more like a dress-to-impress event.

"Say, Mira, why is it so formal?" I asked the white-haired woman as a group of armed men escorted us through a maze of hallways. A few heads snapped my way and Cana's eyes widened slightly, but Mira just smiled.

"The King's guests join the royal family for dinner, and it is important to impress, my Lady." She replied easily. When I opened my mouth to protest against the title she gave me, she narrowed her eyes and shook her head ever so slightly. I clamped my mouth shut and Cana leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"Don't call us by our names in public." I could barely hear her but got the message. Why was everything so damn complicated?

The hallway ended in a pair of carved doors and the men pushed them open to reveal a giant room with tall windows and a very high ceiling. A long table stood in the center with a dozen or so chairs crowded around it. People rushed around, carrying trays and plates filled with food. We crossed to the table and Mira showed us where we should sit, along with a few last-minute pointers.

"When the King comes in, stand up and curtsy. Only sit when he tells you to. Wait for him to bless the meal before eating. Don't reach for anything, ask a servant to get it for you. Watch out for the men, some may be perverts. Good luck!" She whispered and rushed off to join Cana in helping with preparations. Soon we were joined by a group of men who stank of booze and wore the most ridiculous outfits I had ever seen. They immediately began eyeing us and made sure to sit next to us. Levy was across from me, as we decided it'd be safer that way. I'd keep an eye on her neighbors and she'd keep an eye on mine. The lady I didn't like came in with her father and the older version Gajeel, taking seats near the head of the table. Natsu and Gajeel came a few minutes later with a little girl that resembled the queen and sat together on the opposite end from the lady. Natsu grinned when he saw me and the little girl waved. I smiled at her and gave a tiny wave of my own. Levy seemed to be locked in a staring contest with Gajeel, since they both wore subtle smirks and their eyes bore into each other without blinking. Lastly, the royal couple entered to room and everyone stood, including us island girls. The King escorted the Queen to one side of the table before walking over to the other and beginning some sort of formal speech. I only really paid attention closer to the end, when he announced names.

"… and today we are joined by King Jiemma and Princess Minerva of Tuneric, King Metallicana of Fier, and Lady Lucy and Lady Levy. I would like to personally thank Lady Lucy and Lady Levy for aiding Prince Dragneel of Balaur and Prince Redfox of Fier during their crisis. Enjoy the meal with my blessing."

Everyone clapped politely and sat. I noticed Minerva was glaring daggers at me, a haughty expression on her face, but I easily ignored her and watched the other guests order food. Once I got the gist of it I asked the maid, who'd been hovering by my chair, to get me what I wanted and she hurried to do it. The food tasted strange and didn't settle well in my stomach, but I ate it out of politeness. The entire dinner passed in a boring haze, the guests talking about things I either didn't understand or simply didn't care about. It was only by the end that things got interesting, and the cause was Levy.

She began looking queasy after finishing about half of her plate and eyed me warily. I nodded and frowned slightly, my own stomach churning like the ocean during a storm. Suddenly Levy's cheeks puffed up and she pushed back from the table before bolting out of the room. Not caring about Mira's rules, I jumped up and followed her. A shocked silence settled over the table, and as I ducked under the outstretched arms of the door guards a low and suspicious murmur started up. Two more chairs scraped against the marble floor as I left the dining room behind, weaving between the staff and trying to keep Levy's blue hair in sight. I quickly caught up with her and we burst through a pair of glass doors into the palace gardens, my longer legs giving me an advantage. We discarded our fancy shoes without slowing and our bare feet pounded soundlessly against the stone paving. Levy stumbled to a halt in a small clearing and heaved up her stomach contents, the brown and yellow mush plopping onto the ground. The sour stench was enough for my own stomach to act up and I joined her in emptying my insides onto the dirt. After a long stream of gunk left my mouth I took a large breath and immediately regretted it, since the smell had my stomach revolting again.

"Luce! Are you guys…" Natsu burst into the clearing, closely followed by Gajeel, and trailed off once he saw us. "Oh."

I finished throwing up and glared daggers at him. Gajeel approached Levy with caution, knowing that she hated being vulnerable and would slice him into pieces before she bothered to see who he was, and crouched by her side as she dropped onto the ground, coughing. The world began to spin and I stumbled slightly, my balance failing me.

"Shrimp?" Gajeel sounded incredibly gentle, his voice still rough but completely different from the teasing and sarcastic tones he usually used with us. Levy continued to cough, each one becoming harsher and drier. I dropped to my knees and another round of vomiting started up, this one ending in splatters of red hitting the ground. I winced as the coppery stench of blood hit me.

"Luce? Oi, Luce!" Natsu's voice became panicky as he saw the blood. "Luce!"

Levy's coughing became frantic and she spit out blood of her own. Gajeel immediately panicked and scooped my friend up, carrying her back the way we came while she coughed up blood. Natsu did the same, picking me up with ease and running towards the castle. He ran after Gajeel through more hallways and into a very clean room with white everything. I vomited onto his shirt, the blood dying the fabric an ugly shade of brown.

"Stay with me, Luce." He whispered as he set me down on something soft. A sharp pain blossomed in my stomach and I immediately recognized it for what it was.

"Natsu…" I was interrupted by a short but violent coughing burst. "Get the… fruit… you liked… island." I couldn't form a sentence, there wasn't enough breath left. "Make… sure… it's not… ripe." He nodded and ran out the door with protest. Gajeel spared him a confused glance before returning his attention to Levy. A woman in a plain beige and brown dress ran through a small door in the far wall and came up to my friend, who drew her lips into a snarl.

"Don't… touch me… Lu… rejection…" Levy panted before starting up another coughing fit. The white sheets she was lying on were stained with droplets of red. The woman ignored her and took out a vial of clear liquid before Gajeel shouted at her to leave Levy alone. She immediately bowed in apology and moved to me. I shook my head no and pushed myself off the bed, pausing to cough before stumbling over to Levy. I nearly fell over once, but Gajeel managed to catch me.

"What the hell, bunny girl?!" He growled and I shot him a death stare before moving on. Once I made it to Levy's side I placed my hands on her stomach and began a gentle massage, stopping every few seconds to cough. After a few minutes Levy stopped coughing up blood and closed her eyes before heaving up a stream of brown. Natsu rushed into the room with a handful of small yellow fruits and freaked out when he saw me coughing my heart out by Levy's bed.

"Luce! What the hell are you doing?!" He shouted. I stuck my hand out for the fruits and he gave me two. I handed one to Levy and we quickly stuffed them in our mouths, chewing quickly and swallowing before the next heave came. Natsu scooped me up and carried my back to the bed, ignoring my protests and weak punches. A few tense minutes and my stomach settled enough for me to sit up and demand another fruit.

"What is your problem?! Do you have a death wish or something?" Natsu dumped the rest of the fruits onto the bed and began pacing. I snorted as I recalled telling him the same thing not four weeks back.

"Hey, Lu, can I get another one?" Levy rasped, sitting up and ignoring a protesting Gajeel. I tossed her one and she caught it with ease, biting down and swallowing with a sigh.

"You can't eat those! They're…" The woman was back and she cut off whatever she'd wanted to say when Natsu and Gajeel shot her murderous stares. "My apologies."

"I know they're poisonous." I replied calmly and the men's eyes popped out of their sockets.

"Lu—" Natsu began vehemently and I cut him off with a light slap across his knuckles.

"Only if they're ripe." I finished and Gajeel tipped his head back with a groan. "Dumbass." I added under my breath and Natsu grinned sheepishly. The woman bowed deeply and scurried away.

"What happened?" Gajeel growled and picked up the pacing that Natsu had dropped.

"We call it rejection. The last time it happened was when we found a can of food on the wrecked ship. Didn't think it would happen again." Levy explained. Gajeel began muttering under his breath, something about 'stupid' and 'death wish'.

"The fruit, when picked before it ripens, can cure most internal problems. We use it to nullify poison and to calm the stomach." I added and Natsu sighed.

"Why did you guys reject the food though? It's some of the best in the kingdom." Natsu dragged a hand through his pink hair.

"Probably because we've never eaten it before. We lived on the island food for most of our lives, if not all, so our bodies reject the food here. Kinda like you'd throw up if you eat something rotten. Levy always gets it worse than I do." I lowered my feet to the floor and stood, using Natsu as a brace while I found my balance. It took some time, but I finally had enough equilibrium to walk. Levy joined me and we made a few rounds around the room before going into the hallway. The men hovered around us like they were afraid we'd collapse if they looked away even for a second. People passing by stared in shock at the large brown stain on Natsu's front and the large flecks of brown on Gajeels' shirt, but neither seemed to notice. When we made it back to our room we sent them scrambling with a promise to explain to the King and Queen what happened and to relay our apologies. They both said they'd come to check on us in the morning and Levy threatened to throw her knife if they dared invade without permission, causing a few passing maids to freeze in horror. Gajeel smirked at her before running to catch up with Natsu and we slipped into our room to find Mira and Cana pacing in worry.

"Oh my Mavis! Are you girls okay?" They immediately rushed towards us and pulled us to the couches. I quickly recounted what happened and what we told the men, my words only causing more panic. By the time I was done both of us were perfectly fine, but Mira and Cana acted like it was the end of the world.

"Let's draw you girls a bath." Cana decided and moved to go to the bathroom when Levy grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Can we go to the lake instead? Please?" She begged and Cana quickly caved under the puppy-eyes Levy was giving her. Levy and I changed into our island clothes while Mira grabbed four towels and we set out to find the way to the lake. It was the dead of night, but people still swarmed through the halls like little fish and all stared shamelessly at our clothes. Cana ended up leading the way through the gardens and when we finally found the edge of the water we were dying from anticipation. Levy and I immediately took a dive and swam for the ledge, coming up for breath twice and pausing at the cliff to look for grips. Mira and Cana watched in awe as we scaled the rock and straightened out on the ledge, only to take a running start and perform seamless flips before entering the water with a quiet splash. I took my sweet time underwater, lazily arching my back to surface after hanging in the darkness for at least a minute.

"That ledge is just like home!" Levy squealed. I grinned and we started on our second climb when a quiet voice rang out.

"Um, excuse me? Lady Lucy and Lady Levy? Can you, um, teach me how to do that?" The little girl who waved to me at dinner was standing by the edge of the rock wall, her fingers playing with the hem of her short dress. I pushed off from the rock and entered the water in a silent dive, twisting on entry to angle my momentum towards her. I ended up surfacing right in front of her and she jumped slightly.

"Sorry about that." I pulled myself out onto the ground and wiped water from my eyes. "What's your name?"

"Oh, um, it's Wendy. I'm Natsu's sister." She said shyly. Levy popped up next to me and shot Wendy a large grin.

"Nice to meetcha, Wendy. Call me Lucy and call her Levy." I smiled at the girl. "We'd be happy to teach you."

Wendy smiled wide right before three armed men burst from the gardens and surrounded her.

"Princess! You mustn't wander like that!" They started to crowd her and my sense of patience evaporated on the spot as Wendy cringed away from them.

"Oi! Let her take a stroll if she wants to." I nearly spat. They turned narrowed eyes on me and shock slapped their faces as they took in my dripping appearance.

"Lady Lucy! Lady Levy! What are you doing?!" More men came running in. A few reach out to grab me and I tipped back, falling into the water and pushing away from the edge with my feet to gain distance. Once I surfaced I saw Levy's outline moving underwater and turned my gaze on Wendy, who watched me in awe.

"How about you just watch us while we take a couple more dives, and then ask your parents if you can jump. If they say yes, we'll teach you. Deal?" I called and she nodded eagerly. At the corner of my vision I saw Mira and Cana slowly edge back until they were hidden from view by the plants of the garden.

"C'mon, Lu. I want to work on my backflips." Levy shook her head to get water out of her eyes and swam for the rock. When we began to climb the men started to shout at us to stop and we bluntly ignored them. I reached the ledge in time to glimpse a blur of pink racing through the green mass that was the garden, followed by a barely visible patch of black.

"Hey, Levy?"

"Yeah?" Levy straightened out next to me.

"We've got company." A smirk played on my lips. Natsu and Gajeel barreled past the armed men and took flying dives into the water. They swam over to the rock and quickly climbed up to join us. Natsu's face couldn't decide between irritation and glee while Gajeel plainly smirked.

"Why didn't you invite us? You could've told us you were going to dive, then we would've put off telling the King why you bolted like that! You're so mean, Luce!" Natsu pouted.

"Eh. Your fault." I rolled my eyes and he grinned.

"What're they doing here?" Gajeel jabbed his thumb at the staring men.

"Heya Wendy!" Natsu raised his arm and waved at his sister, who was staring up at us with wide and slightly wistful eyes.

"You moron!" I punched Natsu, earning outraged yells from the men which Gajeel silenced by telling them to shut it. "Why didn't you tell me you had a sister?"

"Sorry!" Natsu whined, rubbing his shoulder.

"She wants to learn how to jump, you know." Levy pointed out. Natsu smirked.

"'Course she does. She's like you two: a little crazy." Gajeel drawled out. "Are you gonna jump or what?"

I didn't bother to answer, merely matching Levy's run as we leaped from the ledge and hurtled towards the water. Again, we took our time to surface and swam aside to watch the men jump after us. Natsu did a simple but clean dive while Gajeel did a double spin before entering the water with a slightly bigger splash. Wendy cheered from the shore, her childish voice ringing in the dumbstruck silence that consisted of the armed men. We took a few more dives, Levy working on her backflips while I tried to get a solid triple spin. Natsu improved his double spin and Gajeel tried to minimize his reentry splash. At some point Natsu told us we should go back if we wanted to avoid a major conflict and we swam to the shore, pulled ourselves out of the water and wiped water from our faces. I noticed that the two men were in the pants they'd made on the island, leaving their chests bare. It was a nice change from the uniforms they had been wearing before.

"We'll be here tomorrow, so ask and then we'll teach you!" I called to Wendy and she nodded happily before waving and skipping away into the garden, trailed by half of the armed men. The rest started towards us before Natsu told them to scram and the entire group ran for the palace. Levy took advantage of the situation and jumped on Gajeel's back. Mira and Cana joined us and we introduced them to the men as our friends. The women tried to protest, but none of us would have it. There were no formalities in our group, and that was the end of it.

"Hey, when are Erza, Gray, and Loke coming? We can teach them how to jump too." Levy placed her chin on Gajeel's shoulder while Cana stole disbelieving glimpses at the two. Mira giggle quietly and Natsu draped an arm across my shoulders.

"Tomorrow. Yosh! I get to shove the ice prick off the ledge!" Natsu cheered and I rolled my eyes.

"We have to teach you too!" I told Mira and Cana. They lit up in excitement and on the walk back we explained the basic rules, our lesson constantly interrupted by Natsu. I ended up smacking him to get him to shut up. Prince or no, he still needed someone to manage him.


	10. Chapter 10

**LUCY:**

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, the sun's first rays warm on my skin. During the night I moved to the balcony with a blanket, unable to bear sleeping in the room where I couldn't see the sky. Levy was still sleeping next to me, her blue hair a wild mess scattered around her face. I prodded her shoulder and she groaned without waking up.

"Levy, wake up!" I whispered playfully and she rolled away from me with another groan. I persisted in my poking and she swatted at me with a sleepy hand, missing completely.

"Lu… stop it…" She murmured softly before snapping her eyes open and glaring at me. I giggled as she tackled me and we wrestled on our blankets, just like we did back home. When I pinned her to the ground and she gave in we untangled ourselves and leaned back to watch the sunrise. That's when Mira and Cana made an appearance.

"Did you sleep outside?!" Cana yelped when she saw the blankets.

"Yeah. I can't sleep in the room, and I'm constantly worrying that the ceiling is going to fall on me. I prefer to be able to see the sky." I explained and Mira shook her head.

"You two are strange, that's for sure." She said teasingly and we grinned at her.

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask you if Lu and I could stay in the garden instead. We prefer being outside, we can't eat the palace food, and we don't really fit into the palace society." Levy's request was met with surprised stares.

"That'd be awesome! There's a tree in the gardens that'd be perfect for the night." I exclaimed, remembering the wide, slightly curved branches.

"We can ask." Cana said slowly.

"Thanks!" Levy and I high-fived each other. "We'll go down there for breakfast, okay?" Without waiting for a response we both jumped up, dumped the blankets on our beds and packed our bags with a spare change of clothes before changing into the dresses we made on the ship. I frowned at how much they limited my movements and used my dagger to slice two long cuts in the sides. Then I pulled on my shorts and we ran out into the hallway, taking an easy jog down to the gardens. People stared and whispered as we passed but we ignored them completely, not caring about reputation. The fresh air of the gardens was bliss compared to the stuffiness of the palace. We quickly found a tree that yielded the fruits and picked a few unripe ones, settling on a high branch to eat them in peace.

"Ladies?" Mira's voice rang out just as I was finished my last one. I lightly jumped from branch to branch until I could land safely on the ground, and I slightly frightened Mira by appearing so suddenly.

"Hey!" I greeted her and she took a moment to calm down after her initial shock.

"The King agreed to let you live in the gardens, and he has also excused you from the official meals." She said happily. I wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Thank you so much!" I was nearly squealing. She hugged me back for a second before stepping back.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask the guards by the doors for Miss Strauss, which is me, or Miss Alberona, which is Cana. Okay?" She peered into my eyes and I nodded. "Good. I'll send Erza, Gray, and Loke when they come."

"Great! Thanks so much, both of you." I grinned and Mira smiled in return. She departed with a wave and I told Levy the news. She nearly sent both of us falling out of the tree in her excitement.

"Let's go and practice, Lu!" She pulled me down to the ground and we began a warm up spar, performing easy attacks and blocks. Our practice slowly picked up pace until we were moving on automat, neither really thinking about what we were doing. Sweat coated my body like a second skin, but it felt rather refreshing. I didn't even notice the small crowd that gathered to watch us fight until Natsu and Gajeel showed up.

"Oi! Luce! Can we join?" I caught Levy's last attack with my hand and glanced over to see him in simple clothes, grinning like a madman with a smirking Gajeel at his side. Levy pulled her hand away and cracked her knuckles.

"Sure thing." She said with a smirk. We split up, Levy pairing with Gajeel and Natsu pairing with me. The crowd scooted back to give us more room and we began our matches. Soon we were all lost in our fights, our attacks and defenses moving flawlessly from one to the other. I easily kept pace with Natsu despite the complicated moves he would sometimes throw my way. He slipped up once and I instantly pinned him to the floor, my foot on his lower back and my hand on the back of his neck while he bit the dirt. The crowd made a collective gasp.

"I win." I grinned and let him up. He spit out dirt and flashed me a toothy smile.

"Rematch." He shifted into a fighting stance and beckoned with his fingers. I smirked and accepted the challenge, darting in for an attack and taking him by surprise. During our fights on the island I had always let him start the attacks. However, he quickly recovered and began his counterattack, putting more strength into his hits. Another gasp from the crowd drew my attention to Levy's fight and I saw her pinning Gajeel to the floor in a similar manner. He immediately demanded a rematch and she accepted, using her smaller size to dart under his defenses. Returning my attention to my own match, I sped up my attacks and put more weight into them until Natsu and I were both going full out. It was exhilarating.

"What's going on here?" A woman's voice cut through the haze of the fight and we all froze. Natsu's fist was in my hand and my knee was raised to hit him in the ribs. I looked over to see the crowd part to reveal an elegant woman with flowing blue hair and a little girl that looked just like her. The Queen and Wendy.

"Hello, mother." Natsu and I untangled ourselves and he inclined his head to her while I made a curtsy. In the corner of my vision Levy and Gajeel were doing the same. "We were sparring."

"Well then, keep going." The Queen said with a slight smile. Natsu blinked a couple times, clearly not expecting that kind of response. "Go on. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Lucy, Lady Levy."

I smiled at her and turned to Natsu. "C'mon pyro, let's go." I taunted. He spun around with a devilish grin and attacked, his movements meeting my own in a fast and deadly dance. Levy and Gajeel watched our battle with interest, giving us a wide berth. I found myself smiling as I sparred, my body full of energy and moving perfectly. I finished our fight with a sharp hook around Natsu's knees that forced him to tumble and a strong downwards blow with my hand. In a flash I had him pinned again and the crowd applauded as I let him up.

"Lady Lucy, how many people would you like to try and simultaneously fight?" The Queen asked while Natsu coughed up dirt. I glanced at Levy and she scanned the guards in the crowd before holding up six fingers. She was the better tactician between us, and I knew she would choose enough for a good challenge.

"Six, your majesty, if I could fight with Levy." I replied and the Queen smiled. She beckoned to six guards and they stepped out, slightly unsure.

"Spar with the ladies." She ordered and the guards moved without hesitation, drawing their swords and circling us. Levy pulled out two knives and I pulled out my twin daggers. Somewhere to my left Gajeel made a choking sound.

"Shrimp has two?" He whispered in horror. I felt my lips curl up in a smirk.

"You go first." I told the guards and they attacked together, working like one person. My hands moved on their own, the metal of the blades flashing by as nothing more than a blur. Levy and I fought with complete confidence and familiarity, no words needed. We constantly circled around each other, our backs nearly touching. Every once in a while I would feel a sharp gust of air hit the back of my neck that told me Levy had ducked and I would leave the ground in a flip to swap places with her. We kept the match going for a good half-hour before disarming the six with ease and stowing our weapons as we went in for hand-to-hand combat. Another minute had yet to pass before we had all six on the ground and defeated. The tense silence that had settled on the crowd burst in an explosion of cheers and applause.

"Impressive." A new voice, this one deep and commanding, joined the crowd and the cheering faded away as people scrambled to bow before the King. Levy and I made quick but deep curtsies. "I have never seen two women disarm six of the royal guard with such ease."

"But the battle went on for a long time. How was that easy?" Natsu frowned. The King let out a low chuckled as he ruffled his son's hair. Natsu looked completely stunned by the action.

"They chose to keep the battle going. It took them no effort to disarm the men and move into close combat." The King explained. "It was my pleasure to watch you, ladies." With that he left, strolling back towards the palace.

"You chose to keep it going?!" Gajeel turned to us with his mouth hanging open.

"Yep!" Levy giggled.

"It was a nice spar." I shrugged. Remembering Wendy's request from the previous evening, I turned to the queen. "Your majesty, Wendy asked me if we could teach her how to dive from the ledge. May we?"

"Maybe. Let me see your dives first." The Queen took Wendy's hand and told us show her. Levy and I jogged to the water with our men and performed seamless dives, the water washing away the sweat. When we surfaced by the climbing wall the crowd was already spread out by the water's edge. The four of us scaled the wall in seconds and had a lengthy fight about who would go first. I settled the fight by ruling that Levy and I would go first and then the men would go together right after.

"Let's do triple front, Lu." Levy said as we backed up for the running start. It seemed that the crowd was holding its breath, waiting for us to dive. "I get the feeling they don't think we'll do it." She muttered and I nodded in agreement. We ran and leaped in perfect sync, immediately going into a triple front flip and entering in a smooth dive. When we surfaced we were greeted by applause. We swam in opposite directions to make room for the men and they both did a double front flip, their entry dives a little louder than our but still good. More applause rang out as they surfaced and shook their heads to clear the water from their faces. We swam over to the shore and pulled ourselves out of the water. The Queen looked impressed but she shook her head, much to Wendy's disappointment.

"When you're a little older, Wendy. It looks quite dangerous and I don't want you to have any permanent injuries." She said softly. Wendy nodded quietly before quickly cheering up and complementing our dives. The crowd slowly dispersed until the Queen and Wendy were the last ones left, with the exception of a few lingering guards.

"It was a pleasure watching you, ladies. I hope to see you later today." The Queen inclined her head slightly and we curtsied before she left, pulling a gushing Wendy with her.

"Let's head back and change." I told Levy and we ran back to our packs.

"You guys aren't staying in your room?" Natsu asked in confusion. I shook my head.

"It's too different. The King allowed us to stay in the garden instead." I said as I pulled out my spare clothing and went into a clump of plants to change. When I came back Levy and Gajeel had disappeared, leaving Natsu alone. He looked… sad.

"What's wrong?" I asked softly, spreading my dripping clothes on a branch before turning to him. "C'mon, you can tell me."

"Are you still fine with coming here?" He asked. He sounded uncertain and slightly worried. I slipped my hand into his and gave him a tight squeeze.

"Yes. I'm just not used to it, but I think of it as an adventure. Nothing comes easy in an adventure; after all, that's what makes it fun. I miss the island, but not so much that I want to go back." I gently pulled him along the path until he began to keep pace on his own.

"There's a ball in two days." He said slowly. I stayed quiet, waiting for him to make up his mind even though I knew what he wanted to ask. "Will you be there?"

I smiled reassuringly. "If you want me to, I'd be glad to come."

"So, yes?"

"Yes."

A grin slowly spread across his face and something in me melted at his expression. We continued walking in a comfortable silence, the sun beating down on our backs. It reminded me of the island and the walks we would sometimes have. Levy would demand piggyback rides and Gajeel would groan about them. The men would start a brawl and I would watch, sometimes stepping in to break them up. Suddenly Natsu dropped my hand, jolting me out of my memories and I spun around to ask what was wrong.

"My prince, the King of Balaur requests your presence for the midday meal." Princess Minerva strode up the path, swinging her hips in what she undoubtedly thought was an attractive way. Natsu gave a curt nod and turned to me.

"Pardon me, Lady Lucy." His eyes gave an apology that he couldn't say and I took it. He strode past the princess with barely a glance in her direction. She smirked and locked her slanted gaze on me, slowly coming closer like a slinking cat.

"I've heard quite a bit about you, Lady Lucy." She was within striking distance and I tensed ever so slightly. "They say you fight well. Such unladylike conduct, completely unbefitting of a princess." My mind was working furiously, trying to decipher the meaning behind her taunting words. A cold smile curled her lips and she swept past me with a whisper.

"I've known you since the beginning, princess. Too bad I'm the only one."

I stood frozen as she kept walking. Only after her footsteps completely faded from my hearing did I draw in a slow, almost painful breath. A slow headache took root in the depths of my head and spread until it conquered every nook and cranny. I ran towards a tree and leaped up, hooking my hands around the lowest branch and swinging myself up with a small flip. Not knowing where I was going, I let my body move on its own, my hands reaching for branch after branch as I swung through the trees like a ghost. At some point I heard Levy's sneaky giggle and my direction abruptly changed. I wanted to be alone, silent and invisible while I battled my own thoughts. There was something missing, something important, but I couldn't put a finger on it. The tree line ended on the shores of the lake and I left the branches without pause, diving into the water. I opened my eyes to the darkness of the underwater world and dove down, knowing my breath would last me for at least four minutes. I reached the bottom and swam the length to the cliffs, letting my fingers brush the bottom. At the very base of the cliff I made out a gaping hole and my legs pushed me through, consequences flying out the window. I swam quickly, completely enveloped in the darkness. I began to see the outlines of the tunnel as my chest slowly tightened, begging for fresh air. Ignoring the burn in my legs I swam faster, the pale blue light growing stronger until I could clearly see the surface. My face broke through the final layer of water and my lungs drew in air with greed. I kept my eyes closed until my heartbeat slowed and my breathing had calmed. My lids slid open to reveal a cavern of gray-blue stone, the edges lost in shadow. The walls seemed to shift, never staying still. The air was pressing down on me from all sides, slowly suffocating me. My vision began to blur and darken, my body temperature dropping. Every single instinct screamed danger and I fled, taking a strangled breath before diving back under. I lost feeling in my legs first, but they kept working, pushing me through the darkness. Images began to flash across my vision, all dark and indecipherable. My chest constricted as the meager air I had was used and spots danced across the darkness. I pushed down my pain and methodically worked my way out of the tunnel, slightly angling up when the pressure decreased. A few more burning moments and the light of the mid-day sun broke through the water. The last of my power went to reaching the surface and once again I pulled the air in, my body desperate for fuel. I arched my back until I floated with my face above the water, not a muscle moving to keep me afloat. The headache was pounding as the feeling slowly returned to the tips of my arms and legs. I became distinctly aware of a dull pain across my stomach and the water felt thicker than normal. I moved towards the shore and pulled myself out of the water, straightening to a flash of pain. I glanced at the water and saw a sickly trail of red curling like smoke. My hands brushed across my stomach and came back sticky with blood. The headache drowned out everything else, but I knew I was hurt. I stumbled towards what I guessed to be our temporary home, but I truly had no idea. I pushed aside the tall strands of a pale green fern and saw a blur of blue, black, and white. The blur stopped moving and someone shouted. The blue became bigger before rolling up and out of my line of sight. Black crawled around the edges of my mind and I pushed it away, only to be drowned in it.

 _I've known you since the beginning, princess. Too bad I'm the only one._


	11. Chapter 11

**NATSU:  
** It turned out that my father wanted nothing more from me than reassurance that I would marry Minerva without protest. The rest of our lunch passed in silence, Wendy away with some of her friends from the nobility and my mother unusually silent. I excused myself without finishing the meal, unable to bear the tension.

I strolled through the halls and listed my options. I could go and watch a meeting or I could find Lucy and we could spar. Gray would be coming later, so I could wait for him and pummel him into the ground like the snow cone he is. But then there's always the chance of Erza being with him and I didn't want to deal with her and her twisted sense of justice. I pushed my way through the garden doors and ducked into the undergrowth, eager to escape the sun and the palace. She wasn't at the tree with their packs, although I did notice that snippets of bandages covered in a yellow paste were scattered on the ground. Did someone get hurt? My pace picked up and I headed towards the lake, the second best place to find either of the girls.

"Lu, you should sit down. We don't want it to get worse." Levy's worried voice reached me before I could see either of them. She sounded incredibly gentle, the complete opposite of her normal, fiery persona.

"She can't hear you, shrimp." Gajeel's voice. I frowned, not understanding what he meant. Why couldn't she hear them? The last of the gardens fell back to reveal the three of them by the lake, Lucy standing stiffly with her hands limp at her sides. Her shirt was scrunched up to reveal a thick wad of bandages, the white becoming stained with pink and red. Levy's hand was on her shoulder and the blunette was looking at her friend with desperate eyes. Gajeel hovered around the two of them, hands folded on his chest. He spared me a glance before returning his attention to the girls.

"Fix her, Salamander." He growled as I approached them, worry swamping out any other emotion. Lucy never stood so stiffly.

"Luce?" I said quietly. She tensed at the sound of my voice and turned to face me. It was like a slap in the face. Her eyes were dull and utterly dead, unfocused, not a single emotion flickering in the brown irises. Her foot twitched, slightly moving forwards as if she had wanted to take a step but didn't know how. She looked completely lost, and that scared me. Lucy was never lost.

Suddenly, her hand shot out and gripped Levy's arm. The blunette was startled by the movement, but she recovered almost immediately. Lucy's hold tightened and Levy winced, the skin on her arm paling under the pressure.

"Lu? Not so hard, please." Levy said gently, straining to keep the pain out of her voice.

"I found a memory." Lucy whispered. She squeezed her eyes shut and her forehead creased. A lone tear ran down her cheek before dripping off the tip of her chin. A tremor racked her shoulders and I took two more steps towards her before her eyes snapped open. Recognition flashed across her gaze and it became pleading, locking onto mine.

"Luce…" I didn't know what to do. She released Levy's arm and stumbled towards me, falling forwards. I caught her in an embrace but she remained standing, refusing to let me lower her to the ground while leaning on me for balance and support.

"I don't want to remember, Natsu. It hurts and I don't want to." She murmured, a sob hidden in her voice. Tears were falling in earnest, slipping down her face in glistening streams. "Make it stop, please. Please, it hurts so much…" She looked completely broken, sobbing and pleading for the pain to go away. A scream was torn from her throat and her legs gave as she slumped to the ground, her consciousness fading.

"What's wrong with her?" Gajeel asked, his voice slightly panicked. Levy brushed past him and checked Lucy's pulse.

"She's back. Natsu, pick her up." The blunette murmured quietly. I nodded and slipped my hand under Lucy's knees, lifting her of the ground with ease. Levy led the way into the depths of the gardens and up to a wide tree, maybe four arm-lengths around. A little way above my head the trunk split into two massive, curved branches, each slowly shifting into smaller and smaller branches. Levy jumped to reach the divide and grabbed the rim with her hands, easily pulling herself up and leaning over to take Lucy. She pulled the unconscious blonde into the divide and they both vanished from sight. A few moments later she reappeared and jumped down, landing softly and turning to face us.

"She'll be fine." Levy said quietly but firmly. "Natsu, stay with her while Gajeel and I get more herbs for the paste. I'll catch both of you up to speed once I get her wound treated." With that she pulled Gajeel down the path and they broke into a run. I pulled myself up to the divide and nearly fell out of the tree in shock.

Where there should have been the base of the two branches, there was instead a hollow dip in the trunk. It was wide enough to fit two sleeping people and tall enough to sit up. A thick blanket had been spread out across the floor while pillows lined the walls. A roll of woven plants sat in a corner, thick vines holding it together. When they'd managed to create this, I had no idea. Lucy was curled up, her back against the pillows and a small blanket thrown over her body. Her face was relaxed and peaceful, the complete opposite of what it had been mere minutes before. Strands of blonde fell limply across her features, a few caught in between her lips. I threw my shoes onto the ground before quietly dropping down to the hollow and leaning against the opposite wall, my eyes trained on Lucy. Dried tear tracks stood out on her cheeks, and I suddenly realized that I had never seen her cry. On the island she would get hurt, a plant would shred her skin, a sudden pothole would cause a sprain, but she never cried. She would always shrug it off like it was nothing, and whatever had her crying now… I didn't think I could imagine it. I reached over and brushed her hair away from her mouth, gently tugging the strands loose. My fingers accidentally brushed her skin and before I could blink she had my wrist in a death grip. I heard my bones crack right before her hand sharply relaxed and dropped to the floor. I jerked my wrist back and rubbed the growing bruise, massaging the tender skin to get the blood flowing. Lucy didn't wake up, her breathing didn't change – she stayed out. Wincing at a stab of pain, I pulled back and leaned against the opposite wall, watching her warily. I'd completely forgotten that she was a wild girl, a survivor. I should be grateful she didn't go for my throat.

"Oi! Flamebrain!" A far too familiar and annoying-as-hell voice called out, immediately followed by a smug face. "What the—"

"Move it, Gray!" Levy yelled indignantly. Gray yelped and came crashing down, landing on his mug. His foot came close to Lucy's face and her hand captured his ankle, just like she'd done with my wrist. Levy and Erza joined us to witness Gray struggle to keep his joint in one piece. This time, though, Lucy kept squeezing instead of relaxing after the first crack. Erza watched in shock, trying to connect sleeping maiden to murderous hand.

"Oh, Lu." Levy tapped Lucy's wrist and she released Gray, the skin on his ankle a sickly white. He muttered a string of boring curses and gentle rubbed his foot, wincing slightly every so often. Gajeel and Loke joined us, the hollow becoming crowded. We did our best to spread out, occasionally trodding on stray body parts. I ended up sandwiched between Gray and Loke, the orange-haired commander very tense. The reason may or may not have been the fact that the sleeping killer was next to him.

"So. Levy." Erza began in a commanding voice, sending shivers down my spine. "What happened to Lucy?"

"Lu said she found a memory. Knowing Lu, she probably found something that triggered a memory. When she found us she was soaking wet and lightheaded from the lack of air, so my best guess is that she found something under the lake. Her upper leg muscles were very tense, suggesting she swam for a good amount of time with low oxygen. If anything, there's a tunnel under there."

Levy's words were greeted with silence. I had no idea she was an anatomy professor. Gajeel didn't look lost like I expected, so he must've already gotten the lecture. An image of Levy with her knife at his throat while she explained the causes of sudden death flashed across my mind and I quickly squashed it, lest it come true. Suddenly Loke lurched forward with a groan, his hand on his lower back. I glanced behind him in time to see Lucy's leg lower to the ground.

"Loke!" Erza moved towards him in worry, preparing to draw her sword.

"I'm good." He coughed out. "It's just Lucy." He was cut off by another yelp as Lucy's knee hit his side. Her face was tense and a few beads of sweat sat on her hairline.

"Natsu, switch with him." Levy ordered.

"She'll kill me too!" I protested as Loke gave another groan. Levy smiled sweetly and pointed at my wrist.

"But she let you go last time, no?" Everyone looked at my bruised wrist. "If she'd gotten, say, Erza's wrist, she would've kept crushing it until she broke the bone. Your wrist seems to be fine."

"Uh, no. I think Erza would've killed her first." I muttered. Said monster glared at me and I gulped.

"Move, Natsu." Erza said quietly and I nearly shoved Loke out of the way, scrambling to follow her orders. The moment I sat down in my new position I felt the air shift as Lucy's leg came for the next hit. To everyone's shock, especially my own, she merely tapped me twice with her toes before relaxing. My spine stayed in one piece and Loke immediately shot me a jealous glare.

"See?" Levy giggled. She pulled out her twin knives, stuck one into the floor and began wiping the other one with the edge of her shirt. Gajeel edged away from her, eyeing her toys.

"Why is she trying to kill us?" Gray asked, nodding at Lucy.

"Lu managed to shred her stomach and get the wound infected, so I gave her a mixture we developed that burns through the infection and numbs the pain. The only downside is that it's impossible to wake up while under its influence. She's conscious, but walking the line between sleeping and waking. She can't hear us and she responds only to her sense of touch. We practiced defense while under to improve our fighting skills. Lu doesn't recognize you and thinks you are a threat, so she fights to survive. Except for Natsu, apparently. Pinkie here gets a free pass." Levy finished with a knowing smirk in my direction and my face heated up. Gray's head looked about ready to explode.

"Tell them about the wound, shrimp." Gajeel spoke up and Levy paused in her knife cleaning to nod.

"Yes. Lu got the wound before she went into the water." The blunette exchanged her knives. The rest of us sat in a shocked silence, trying to wrap our head around her logic. I gave up first.

"How do you know?" I asked, perplexed. Levy set down her knife and looked me in the eye.

"I found spiked soaking leaves under the flap of skin. The blood had already begun to clot, and combined with the spikes that created a combination that would securely trap the leaves. The leaves were saturated to the point of bursting, meaning she dove with them. I can also say that she got the wound some time before she went swimming, because her stomach had gushed a good amount of blood when she entered the water. You should've seen the trails she left in the lake. Both of them, entry and exit trails, were still there when we came to check." Levy paused for breath, her face grim.

"The last time I saw her was on the path back by your other tree. Minerva had come to tell me my father wanted me, and then she followed me all the way to the dining rooms. Lucy was fine when I left." I added my own information. Erza's eyes narrowed slightly.

"We need to find the start of the blood trail." She decided and Levy nodded in agreement. "Is there any chance Minerva was the attacker?"

"I doubt it. She's a princess, and women of her kind can barely use a kitchen knife without stabbing themselves." Gajeel muttered. Suddenly a wide smile split Levy's face and I nearly jumped when I felt three hard taps on my forearm, the last one slipping and jabbing my side. Levy fell onto Gajeel in a fit of laughter and I looked down to see Lucy's hand blindly probing the air, one finger slightly extended.

"Give her… your hand… you should've seen your face!" Levy forced out in between bouts of laughter. Gray snorted at her last comment and I chose to ignore him, focusing my attention on Lucy instead.

 **LUCY:**

I hated being on the line between sleeping and waking, especially when there we many people around me, mainly because it meant I couldn't pound them into the floor. I heard voices but they were too far away to be distinct and recognizable, making me feel vulnerable. At some point something touched my legs and I poured all of my energy into getting rid of that something, forcing my feet to move. I couldn't remember what happened after I pulled Natsu down the path, but my body was exhausted. On my fourth attempt to remove the threat I felt the same unnatural heat that identified the something as Natsu and my leg screeched to a stop. I never really thought about his strange body temperature before, but while stuck in a half-coma I noticed just how unique it was. The first time I felt it was when I poured the antidote down his throat, and my fingers had lifted his chin to keep him from choking. I recognized the same heat when I had been busy breaking a wrist and I immediately matched the said wrist with Natsu. In another life I might've even felt bad about trying to snap his bones, but the me right now had no regrets. It was just another reminder to not mess with me.

The pain slowly came back and made itself known, signaling the end of the half-coma. Now all I had to do was find something to pull myself out with. I sent out a blind expedition towards where I assumed Natsu was, my finger coming in contact with the heat again. I poked him three times, hoping that Levy was nearby and she would understand the message. My body was beginning to feel heavy, and if I stayed on the line for much longer I'd fall back into sleep again. A warm hand slid into mine and I zeroed in on the new contact, using his hand to pull myself off the line and into the waking zone. Slowly, teasingly slowly my senses returned, starting with touch and going down the line to hearing.

"Lu? You with us?" Levy. I nodded, too tired to actually open my eyes and look at her. "Erza, Gray, and Loke are here."

It took me a moment, but my eyelids crawled open at the pace of a snail to reveal a crowded tree hollow. Loke looked sore and pissed, Gray looked stupid, and Erza was eating cake. Levy smiled at me and gave me a thumbs up, to which I responded with a half-smile, and Gajeel was too busy eyeing Levy's knives to pay me any attention. Lastly there was Natsu, sitting cross-legged with his back against a bunch of pillows. He was the only one who had concern written on his face, and I thought it made him look cute. I spun around so that I could place my head on Natsu's leg and sleep immediately took over, sweeping me off my feet. Gray snickered, but I would destroy him later. Natsu's leg was so warm…

 **XXXXX**

I awoke feeling hot and sticky. It wasn't pleasant, to say the least. My back was pressed against something soft and firm while something warm was draped over my waist. Without pause, I pried the thing off and rolled away, only to end up staring at a sleeping Natsu. He cracked open an eye to stare at me accusingly through the haze of sleepiness.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, suddenly feeling wide awake. He rolled over onto his back and rubbed his eyes.

"Napping," He mumbled. "and hiding from Minerva."

I glowered at him, but only managed to waste my time as he continued to rub his eyes. He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position and stretched his arms out above his head, making his shoulder muscles bunch up in all their glory. I caught myself staring and looked away, a blush coating my cheeks.

"You slept through dinner, so I had to go with popsicle and Erza. Gajeel never showed up and Loke had commander duties. Minerva wanted to go to some Duke's party with me, but I told her I promised to train with Erza. She didn't ask me again." He kept talking, completely oblivious so my moment of embarrassment.

"Did you actually train?" I stood and arched my back, feeling the bones pop into place.

"Uh…"

"Thought so." I smirked. "C'mon, let's go for a spar."

He didn't protest – much – as we climbed over the rim of the hollow and dropped down to the ground below. I ran a few laps around the clearing to warm up and we began our match with easy, gentle blows that let me test my reflexes. The latest little rendezvous with memory left me a bit shaky, but the fight fished my brain out and plopped it right on track. Just like that morning, our speed and power slowly increased until we were both going full out, battling as equals. I won with another simple pin, but the fight left me exhilarated.

"Can we go for a run? I need to work off the energy." I danced from foot to foot while he spat out dirt.

"Sure. You lead."

I set off immediately, leaving him to catch up. We ran at a fast pace, taking random corner. Once, I found a dead-end path, and instead of turning around I simply ducked through the bushes bordering the path and kept running through the undergrowth. Natsu swore as a tree branch slapped him across the face and I looked back at him, a tease ready on the tip of my tongue, only to stumble as the picture unfolded before my eyes.

"Natsu!" I whisper-shouted. He paused his swearing long enough to trace my line of sight. The devil's grin split his features and I came up to stand beside him, both of us looking at the unimaginable.

Gajeel and Levy had fallen asleep at the base of a really thick branch, Gajeel leaning back against the trunk and Levy curled up against his front. He had both arms around her in a loose hug and his nose was buried in her hair.

"They look so cute!" I giggled quietly. Natsu looked like all the birthdays in the world had come early.

"Just wait till I tell Gray!" He snickered. I punched his on the shoulder and he feigned extreme pain before grabbing my hand and pulling me away from the sleeping couple. We resumed our run, the silence now constantly interrupted by the occasional sniggers as we imaged the teasing we would unleash on them.

The lake came into view and I slowed to a walk, giving my lungs a chance to catch up to my heart. Natsu was a bit worse for wear, but he had decided to run backwards for half the time, tripping more than enough times to entertain his sister for the rest of the month. A small headache accompanied an image as it flashed before my eyes, leaving me reeling. Natsu caught my arm to steady me and gently pulled me closer to him until I could lean against him.

"Thanks." I muttered, rubbing my forehead.

"What was it?"

"Something I can't remember…" I trailed off as another image, this one of an eerie cavern, popped up. The water's reflection danced on the stone walls. It hit me in full force and I gasped. "A cave!"

"What?" Natsu sounded confused. I spun around and pulled him to the edge of the lake, my finger pointing at the depths.

"There's a tunnel at the base of the ledge, pretty deep down. It leads to a cave. I think it was about four minutes of swimming." I paused, thinking it over. "But the aura of the cave was cursed. I know it brought up something bad, but I have no idea what."

Natsu gaped like a fish. "Four minutes?"

"Yeah, why?" I glanced at his open mouth before giggling and reaching over to close it.

"You can hold you breath for four minutes?" His mouth hung open again. I rolled my eyes and he shook his head in wonder. "Weirdo."

"Pinky." I taunted. He frowned, but his eyes were laughing.

"Natsu!" A faint echo of Erza's voice sliced through our moment like her swords. Natsu gulped and darted towards the call, stumbling slightly.

"Bye, Luce! See ya later!" He yelled over his shoulder. I grinned softly at his antics.

"See ya!" I shouted back and he threw me his signature grin. I stood still, watching his mop of pink disappear in the undergrowth with a strange feeling in my chest, something I couldn't place. The stars caught my attention, Aquarius' constellation brighter that normal. The warm feeling was replaced with plain dread. Whenever the mermaid shone brightly, something would happen and drown me in the process.


End file.
